Introduction: Exercise remodels adipose tissue, improving systemic metabolism. While recent studies suggest that subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT) remodeling involves epigenetic mechanisms, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) remains unclear. lncRNAs regulate adipogenesis and fatty-acid metabolism in scWAT. In a human study from our lab, 10 weeks of endurance training regulated 160 lncRNAs in obese individuals' scWAT and 340 in lean individuals' scWAT. Among exercise-responsive lncRNAs, four show broad expression across cell types in mouse scWAT— Malat1 and Neat1, which promote adipogenesis via the PPAR signaling; Pvt1, which enhances fatty acid synthesis; and H19, which is downregulated in obesity. Given their roles, these lncRNAs may contribute to adipose tissue remodeling. However, no studies have investigated their regulation by acute and chronic endurance exercise. Aim and Hypothesis: We aim to determine how acute and chronic endurance exercise regulates lncRNA expression in scWAT of male mice, hypothesizing that exercise alters the expression of candidate lncRNAs. Methods: Candidate lncRNAs were chosen for (1) established roles in adipogenesis or metabolism, (2) expression across cell types in human and mouse scWAT, and (3) limited knowledge of their exercise responses. For acute exercise, 9-week-old C57BL6J male mice (n=8) were exercised on a treadmill for 1 hour, 5° incline, 18 m/min; scWAT was collected 1 hour post-exercise. For exercise training, 6-week-old DBA2J mice (n=6) were exercised for 4 weeks, 5~6 km daily; scWAT was collected 24 hours post-exercise. Gene expression was analyzed by real-time PCR (qPCR). Results: Acute exercise significantly reduced blood glucose concentrations (Sedentary: 216.3 ± 12.5 mg/dL vs. Exercise: 186.1 ± 5.1 mg/dL; p = 0.0422), without changing body or scWAT mass. Acute exercise significantly increased Neat1 (p = 0.0327) and Pvt1 (p = 0.0052) expression, while Malat1 and H19 expression remained unchanged. Exercise training did not affect body weight or fasting glucose but significantly reduced scWAT mass (Sedentary: 25.45 ± 1.27 mg vs. Training: 17.55 ± 2.93 mg; p = 0.0438). Training significantly upregulated Malat1 (p = 0.0343) and Pvt1 (p = 0.0284) expression, while Neat1 and H19 remained unchanged. In the training model, scWAT weight correlated negatively with Malat1 (r = -0.70, p = 0.0142) and H19 (r = -0.68, p = 0.0185) expression. Conclusion: Exercise differentially regulates lncRNA expression in scWAT, identifying Malat1, Neat1, Pvt1, and H19 as potential mediators of exercise-induced scWAT remodeling. Elevated Malat1 and H19 expression correlates with reduced scWAT mass, suggesting potential therapeutic value. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
Zheng et al. (Fri,) studied this question.