Integrated single-cell multiome analysis reveals muscle fiber-type gene regulatory circuitry modulated by endurance exercise

Abstract

Endurance exercise induces multisystem adaptations that improve performance and benefit health. Gene regulatory circuit responses within individual skeletal muscle cell types, which are key mediators of exercise effects, have not been studied. Here, we map transcriptome, chromatin, and regulatory circuit responses to acute endurance exercise in muscle using same-cell RNA-seq/ATAC-seq multiome assays. High-quality data were obtained from 37,154 nuclei comprising 14 cell types in vastus lateralis samples collected before and 3.5 h after either 40 min cycling exercise at 70% VO₂max or 40 min supine rest. Both shared and cell-type-specific regulatory programs were identified. Differential gene expression and accessibility sites are largely distinct within nuclei for each cell type and muscle fiber, with the largest numbers of regulatory events observed in the three muscle fiber types (slow, fast, and intermediate) and lumican (LUM)-expressing fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells. Single-cell regulatory circuit triad reconstruction (transcription factor, chromatin interaction site, regulated gene) also identifies largely distinct gene regulatory circuits modulated by exercise in the three muscle fiber types and LUM-expressing fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells, involving a total of 328 transcription factors acting at chromatin sites regulating 2025 genes. This web-accessible single-cell data set and regulatory circuitry map serve as a resource for understanding the molecular underpinnings of the metabolic and physiological effects of exercise and for guiding interpretation of the exercise response literature in bulk tissue.