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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1452768
This article is part of the Research Topic Unraveling the Cellular Mechanisms of Krill Oil's Nutritional Benefits View all articles

Krill oil supplementation in vivo promotes increased fuel metabolism and protein synthesis in cultured human skeletal muscle cells

Provisionally accepted
Parmeshwar B Katare Parmeshwar B Katare 1Andrea Dalmao-Fernandez Andrea Dalmao-Fernandez 1Abel M Mengeste Abel M Mengeste 1Farnaz Navabakbar Farnaz Navabakbar 1Håvard Hamarsland Håvard Hamarsland 2Stian Ellefsen Stian Ellefsen 2Rolf Berge Rolf Berge 3Hege G. Bakke Hege G. Bakke 1Tuula Anneli Nyman Tuula Anneli Nyman 4,5Eili Tranheim Kase Eili Tranheim Kase 1Arild C Rustan Arild C Rustan 1G Hege Thoresen G Hege Thoresen 1*
  • 1 Department of Pharmacy, Section for Pharmacology and and Pharmaceutical biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • 2 Section for Health and Exercise Physiology, Lillehammer University College, Lillehammer, Oppland, Norway
  • 3 University of Bergen, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
  • 4 Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • 5 Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Nordland, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Krill oil is a dietary supplement derived from Antarctic krill; a small crustacean found in the ocean. Krill oil is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, as well as the antioxidant astaxanthin. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of krill oil supplementation, compared to placebo oil (high oleic sunflower oil added astaxanthin), in vivo on energy metabolism and substrate turnover in human skeletal muscle cells. Skeletal muscle cells (myotubes) were obtained before and after a 7-week krill oil or placebo oil intervention, and glucose and oleic acid metabolism and leucine accumulation, as well as effects of different stimuli in vitro, were studied in the myotubes. In vivo intervention with krill oil increased oleic acid oxidation and leucine accumulation in skeletal muscle cells, however no effects were observed on glucose metabolism. The krill oil-intervention-induced increase in oleic acid oxidation correlated negatively with changes in serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) concentration. In addition, myotubes were also exposed to krill oil in vitro. The in vitro study revealed that 24 h of krill oil treatment increased both glucose and oleic acid metabolism in myotubes, enhancing energy substrate utilization. Transcriptomic analysis comparing myotubes obtained before and after krill oil supplementation identified differentially expressed genes associated with e.g. glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, metabolic pathways and calcium signaling pathway, while proteomic analysis demonstrated upregulation of e.g. LDL-receptor in myotubes obtained after the krill oil intervention. These findings suggest that krill oil intervention promotes increased fuel metabolism and protein synthesis in human skeletal muscle cells, with potential implications for metabolic health.

    Keywords: Skeletal muscle cells, krill oil, Energy Metabolism, Omega-3 fatty Acids, Mitochondria

    Received: 21 Jun 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Katare, Dalmao-Fernandez, Mengeste, Navabakbar, Hamarsland, Ellefsen, Berge, Bakke, Nyman, Kase, Rustan and Thoresen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: G Hege Thoresen, Department of Pharmacy, Section for Pharmacology and and Pharmaceutical biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0316, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.