AIM: To study if the phenotypical characteristics (exercise intolerance; reduced spontaneous activity) of the AMPKa2 kinase-dead (KD) mice can be explained by a reduced mitochondrial respiratory flux rates (JO(2) ) in skeletal muscle. Secondly, the effect of the maturation process on JO(2) was studied. METHODS: In tibialis anterior (almost exclusively type 2 fibers) muscle from young (12-17 weeks, n = 7) and mature (25-27 weeks, n = 12) KD and wild type (WT) (12-17 weeks, n = 9; 25-27 weeks, n = 11) littermates JO(2) was quantified in permeabilized fibers ex vivo by respirometry, using a substrate-uncoupler-inhibitor-titration (SUIT) protocol: malate, octanoyl-carnitine, ADP and glutamate (GMO(3) ), +succinate (GMOS(3) ), +uncoupler (U) and inhibitor (rotenone) of complex I respiration. Citrate synthase (CS) activity was measured as and index of mitochondrial content. RESULTS: CS activity was highest in young WT animals, and lower in KD animals compared with age-matched WT. JO(2) per mg tissue was lower (P