Cellular recycling helps control heart sugar levels during exercise

Peak myocardial glycogen accumulation in mice was evident at 2 hours post-exercise.

• Exercise induces a temporary increase in cardiac glycogen levels.
• Glycogen synthase is activated shortly after exercise, contributing to glycogen accumulation.
• At 4 and 16 hours post-exercise, glycogen breakdown is linked to decreased levels of the glycophaagy tagging protein STBD1.
• Increased levels of GABARAPL1, an autophagy-related protein, suggest enhanced glycophagy activity during glycogen degradation.
• These findings indicate the involvement of glycophagy in maintaining cardiac glycogen balance after exercise.

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