Effect of exercise training on adipocyte-size-dependent expression of leptin and adiponectin.

AIMS: Our aim was to evaluate the effect of exercise training (TR) on adipocyte-size-dependent expression of leptin and adiponectin. MAIN METHODS: Male Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups, sedentary control (CR) and TR group, and both monitored for 9weeks. Adipocytes isolated from epididymal, retroperitoneal, and inguinal fat depots were independently separated into 3 fractions of different cell size, and the relationships between adipocyte size and either leptin or adiponectin mRNA were determined by real-time RT-PCR analysis. KEY FINDINGS: In epididymal and inguinal adipose tissue, positive relationships between adipocyte size and both leptin and adiponectin mRNA expression were found. Comparison of TR and CR rats showed no significant effect of TR on the slopes of the linear regression lines of correlation between leptin mRNA and adipocyte size in either adipose tissue, whereas the slopes of the regression line of correlation between adipocyte size and adiponectin mRNA were greater in TR group. Leptin levels per milliliter of plasma were significantly lower in TR than CR rats, whereas leptin levels adjusted to the 3 fat depots did not differ. TR did not affect adiponectin levels in plasma, whereas adiponectin levels adjusted to the 3 fat depots were significantly greater in TR than CR group. SIGNIFICANCE: TR-induced reduction in leptin mRNA expression was closely associated with smaller adipocyte size. However, TR amplified the adipocyte-size-dependent expression of adiponectin mRNA, suggesting that TR-induced alterations in adiponectin mRNA may also be mediated by factor(s) other than adipocyte size.

Possible role of nitric oxide on adipocyte lipolysis in exercise-trained rats.

A possible role of nitric oxide (NO) on adipocyte lipolysis was studied in exercise-trained (9 weeks of running) rats. Lipolysis in adipose tissue tended to be greater in trained rats than in control rats. A treatment of adipose tissue with 5 mM N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) showed that basal and isoproterenol-stimulated lipolysis were both significantly greater in trained rats than in control rats. In contrast, in isolated adipocytes L-NAME had no effect on lipolysis in either group of rats, though the lipolysis of isolated adipocytes was significantly greater in trained rats than in control rats. Training significantly reduced nitrite/nitrate production in adipocytes, but not in tissue. On the other hand, training increased the protein expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), but not that of inducible NOS (iNOS) in the extracts of tissue homogenates. In tissue homogenates, eNOS activity but not iNOS activity was significantly greater in trained rats than in control rats. In cellular extracts, training significantly reduced the activities of both NOS's, but the mRNA expressions of both NOS's were not different between groups. The NO donors, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) and 1-propamine, 3-(2-hydroxy-2-nitroso-1-propyl-hydrazine) (PAPA-NONOate), significantly inhibited adipocyte lipolysis in response to isoproterenol in both groups. This inhibitory effect of SNAP, but not that of PAPA-NONOate, was greater in the adipocytes of trained rats than in those of the control rats. Thus it is possible that NO is involved in the regulation of lipolysis and that exercise training enhances the responsiveness of adipocytes to extracellular NO with the reduced production of nitrite/nitrate in adipocytes because of decreased activities of NOS's. On the other hand, it is also possible that exercise increases either the activity or the protein expression of eNOS in adipose tissue.