ENDURANCE TRAINING EFFECTS ON GLUCOSE STORAGE PATHWAYS IN DIABETIC ANIMAL

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The maintenance of a normal steady concentration of glucose in the blood is necessary for good health. The diabetes occurs when a person can no longer adequately control the level of blood sugar, and it rises out of the normal range. Diabetes is a major health problem in the United States, affecting one person in twenty (5% of the population). Among the large population of Native Americans in Arizona, the frequency of diabetes is even more significant, occurring four to eight times more often than the national average. Minority students selected for this project will almost certainly have had a direct personal experiences with diabetes. Several laboratory studies have shown that endurance exercise improves an individual's regulation of blood glucose levels. The biochemical reason for this training effect is currently being investigated. An important factor is the body's ability to store glycogen, which can be made either directly or indirectly in the liver. The exercise trained individual may be capable of controlling blood glucose levels by more efficient control of glycogen storage. The specific aims of this project are to continue our studies by using diabetic animal models to determine the relative contributions of the direct and indirect pathways of glycogen formation, activities of key enzymes, amount of muscles glucose transporters, the sources and levels of blood glucose, and how these parameters are affected by enduring training. The minority biomedical students who will participate in this project will actively use biochemical research principles and techniques. They will train the animals and do biochemical assays. They will learn to use in a safe manner instruments such as a uv-visible spectrophotometer, blood analyzers, electrophoresis apparatus, a scintillation counter, an NMR spectrometer, CO2 and O2 analyzers, and chromatographic equipment. These students will also be actively involved in analyzing and interpreting data, designing experiments and in disseminating the conclusions through presentations at meetings and publications in the biomedical literature.