Aim: To compare the molecular and metabolic effects of a single exercise bout in the skeletal muscle between lean and overweight/obese (Ov/Ob) individuals.
Materials and methods: Participants recruited were men, aged 19-30 years, who were either lean (body mass index [BMI] < 25, 18.5-24.1 kg/m2 ; n = 15) or Ov/Ob (BMI ≥ 25, 25.5-36.9 kg/m2 ; n = 15). Four hours after a high-carbohydrate breakfast (7 kcal/kg; 60% carbohydrate, 25% fat, 15% protein), participants performed a cycling exercise (50% VO2 max, expending ~650 kcal). Muscle biopsies and peripheral blood samples were collected 30 minutes before the meal and immediately after exercise. Blood analysis, and muscle acylcarnitine profiles, transcriptomics, and nucleosome mapping by micrococcal nuclease digestion with deep sequencing were performed.
Results: A single exercise bout improved blood metabolite profiles in both lean and Ov/Ob individuals. Muscle long-chain acylcarnitines were increased in Ov/Ob compared with lean participants, but were not altered by exercise. A single exercise bout increased the mRNA abundance of genes related to mitochondria and insulin signalling in both lean and Ov/Ob participants. Nucleosome mapping by micrococcal nuclease digestion with deep sequencing revealed that exercise repositioned the -1 nucleosome away from the transcription start site of the PGC1a promoter and of other mitochondrial genes, but did not affect genes related to insulin signalling, in both lean and Ov/Ob participants.
Conclusion: These data suggest that a single exercise bout induced epigenetic alterations in skeletal muscle in a BMI-independent manner.
Keywords: exercise intervention; obesity therapy.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.