The mRNA levels of AMPK were measured as described earlier [32 (link)]. In brief, total RNA from skeletal muscle samples (~30 mg) was extracted with NucleoSpin® RNA/Protein (Macherey-Nagel, Düren, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Analyses of the real-time quantitative PCR data were performed using the comparative threshold cycle [Ct] method as suggested by Applied Biosystems (User Bulletin #2). The following primers were used for AMPK:

Forward: 5’-GACTGGACATAAAGTTGCTGTGA-3’ 23,

Reverse: 5-’GGATTTTCCCGACCACGTC-3’ 19

The expression of mRNA of AMPK was normalised to beta-actin [32 (link)].