Measurement of skeletal muscle glucose uptake in mice in response to acute treadmill running

Skeletal muscle contractions stimulate glucose uptake into the working muscles during exercise. Because this signaling pathway is independent of insulin, exercise constitutes an important alternative pathway to increase glucose uptake, also in insulin-resistant muscle. Therefore, much effort is being put into understanding the molecular regulation of exercise-stimulated glucose uptake by skeletal muscle. To delineate the causal molecular mechanisms whereby muscle contraction or exercise regulate glucose uptake, the investigation of genetically manipulated rodents is necessary. Presented here is a modified and optimized protocol assessing exercise-induced muscle glucose uptake in mice in response to acute treadmill running. Using this high-throughput protocol, running capacity can accurately and reproducibly be determined in mice, and basal- and exercise-stimulated skeletal muscle glucose uptake and intracellular signaling can precisely and dose-dependently be measured in awake mice in vivo without the need for catheterization and with minimal loss of blood.