Exercise rewires muscle and fat differently, explaining why some people gain more health benefits
A study of young overweight adults found that seven weeks of training produced opposite genetic responses in muscle versus fat tissue—particularly in genes controlling glucose metabolism. The finding helps explain why identical exercise programs yield vastly different health outcomes across individuals, with implications for personalizing fitness interventions and predicting metabolic disease risk.
Originaltitel: Discordant gene expression in subcutaneous adipose and skeletal muscle tissues in response to exercise training
<p>Exercise has different effects on different tissues in the body, the sum of which may determine the response to exercise and the health benefits. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether physical training regulates transcriptional network communites common to both skeletal muscle (SM) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Eight such shared transcriptional communities were found in both tissues. Eighteen young overweight adults voluntarily participated in 7 weeks of combined strength and endurance training (five training sessions per week). Biopsies were taken from SM and SAT before and after training. Five of the network communities were regulated by training in SM but showed no change in SAT. One community involved in insulin- AMPK signaling and glucose utilization was upregulated in SM but downregulated in SAT. This diverging exercise regulation was confirmed in two independent studies and was also associated with BMI and diabetes in an independent cohort. Thus, the current finding is consistent with the differential responses of different tissues and suggests that body composition may influence the observed individual whole-body metabolic response to exercise training and help explain the observed attenuated whole-body insulin sensitivity after exercise training, even if it has significant effects on the exercising muscle.</p>