Metformin Blunts Muscle Hypertrophy in Response to Progressive Resistance Exercise Training in Older Adults: A Randomized, Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled, Multicenter Trial: The MASTERS Trial

Authors

R. Grace Walton, University of KentuckyFollow
Cory M. Dungan, University of KentuckyFollow
Douglas E. Long, University of KentuckyFollow
S. Craig Tuggle, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Kate Kosmac, University of KentuckyFollow
Bailey D. Peck, University of KentuckyFollow
Heather M. Bush, University of KentuckyFollow
Alejandro G. Villasante Tezanos, University of KentuckyFollow
Gerald McGwin, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Samuel T. Windham, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Fernando Ovalle, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Marcas M. Bamman, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Philip A. Kern, University of KentuckyFollow
Charlotte A. Peterson, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

Progressive resistance exercise training (PRT) is the most effective known intervention for combating aging skeletal muscle atrophy. However, the hypertrophic response to PRT is variable, and this may be due to muscle inflammation susceptibility. Metformin reduces inflammation, so we hypothesized that metformin would augment the muscle response to PRT in healthy women and men aged 65 and older. In a randomized, double-blind trial, participants received 1,700 mg/day metformin (N = 46) or placebo (N = 48) throughout the study, and all subjects performed 14 weeks of supervised PRT. Although responses to PRT varied, placebo gained more lean body mass (p = .003) and thigh muscle mass (p < .001) than metformin. CT scan showed that increases in thigh muscle area (p = .005) and density (p = .020) were greater in placebo versus metformin. There was a trend for blunted strength gains in metformin that did not reach statistical significance. Analyses of vastus lateralis muscle biopsies showed that metformin did not affect fiber hypertrophy, or increases in satellite cell or macrophage abundance with PRT. However, placebo had decreased type I fiber percentage while metformin did not (p = .007). Metformin led to an increase in AMPK signaling, and a trend for blunted increases in mTORC1 signaling in response to PRT. These results underscore the benefits of PRT in older adults, but metformin negatively impacts the hypertrophic response to resistance training in healthy older individuals. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02308228.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-26-2019

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Aging Cell, p. 1-13.

© 2019 The Authors.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.13039

Funding Information

The study was funded by National Institute on Aging, Grant/Award Number: R01AG046920 and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant/Award Numbers: UL1TR001998, UL1TR003096.

Related Content

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional supporting information may be found at the end of this record and online in the Supporting Information section at the end of the article.

Repository Citation

Walton, R. Grace; Dungan, Cory M.; Long, Douglas E.; Tuggle, S. Craig; Kosmac, Kate; Peck, Bailey D.; Bush, Heather M.; Villasante Tezanos, Alejandro G.; McGwin, Gerald; Windham, Samuel T.; Ovalle, Fernando; Bamman, Marcas M.; Kern, Philip A.; and Peterson, Charlotte A., "Metformin Blunts Muscle Hypertrophy in Response to Progressive Resistance Exercise Training in Older Adults: A Randomized, Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled, Multicenter Trial: The MASTERS Trial" (2019). Center for Muscle Biology Faculty Publications. 11.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/musclebiology_facpub/11