Effect of aerobic exercise on the expression of inflammation-related genes TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 in overweight individuals

Aerobic exercise has been proposed as a non-pharmacological intervention to modulate inflammatory gene expression, yet the molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. This study investigated the effects of a 12-week moderate-intensity aerobic exercise intervention on the mRNA expression levels of inflammation-related genes (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of overweight individuals. Forty-five overweight adults (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m²) were randomly assigned to either an aerobic exercise group (n=30) or a sedentary control group (n=15). The exercise protocol consisted of supervised moderate-intensity aerobic training (60-75% HRmax) for 45-60 minutes, 5 days per week for 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected pre- and post- intervention for gene expression analysis using quantitative real-time PCR and protein quantification via ELISA. Following the 12-week intervention, the exercise group demonstrated significant reductions in TNF-α mRNA expression (−52.3%, p<0.001) and IL-6 expression (−47.8%, p<0.001) compared to baseline. Conversely, IL-10 expression increased significantly (+68.4%, p<0.001). Plasma protein concentrations paralleled these changes, with TNF-α decreasing from 8.6±2.1 to 4.9±1.3 pg/mL (p<0.001), IL-6 from 5.8±1.7 to 3.2±0.9 pg/mL (p<0.001), and IL-10 increasing from 3.1±0.8 to 5.6±1.2 pg/mL (p<0.001). Body mass index decreased significantly in the exercise group (−2.3 kg/m², p<0.001) with concurrent improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂max increased by 18.7%, p<0.001). Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise effectively modulates the inflammatory gene expression profile in overweight individuals by downregulating pro-inflammatory genes (TNF-α and IL-6) and upregulating the anti- inflammatory gene (IL-10). These molecular adaptations may contribute to reduced inflammation and improved metabolic health in this population.