Depot-Specific Changes in Gene Expression in the Inguinal and Epididymal Adipose Tissues in Response to the High-Intensity Interval Training and Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training in Mice

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Yisheng Luan^1,2, Lingfeng Yuan¹, Mingyue Wang³, Bing Zhang¹, Yao Liu¹, Yingzhe Xiong³, Yaxin Wang^3,a*

¹Division of Sports Science and Physical Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

²Physical Education Institute, Putian University, Putian, 351100, China

³School of Physical Education and Sports, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: January 10, 2025; Revised: April 10, 2025; Accepted: April 22, 2025

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Different exercise modes have different mechanisms of impact on white adipose tissue (WAT) and metabolic health. However, specific effects of particular exercise modalities on different adipose tissue depots remain unclear. This study aimed to compare the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on gene expression in the inguinal (subcutaneous) and epididymal (visceral) WAT in mice. The animals were subjected to either HIIT or MICT for 8 weeks, after which their adipose tissues were collected for gene expression analysis. Our results demonstrated depot-specific responses including significantly increased expression of thermogenic and mitochondrial biogenesis markers (UCP-1 and PGC-1α) in the inguinal WAT after HIIT and upregulated expression of lipid metabolism-related genes in the epididymal WAT after MICT. Despite being limited to the endpoint gene expression analysis, these findings provide novel evidence on the exercise modality-specific responses in different adipose depots in vivo. Our study establishes a critical phenotypic foundation for future mechanistic studies, including cell-based approaches, aimed to explore signaling pathways underlying these depot-specific responses. These results have important implications for designing targeted exercise strategies for obesity prevention and metabolic health management.

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KEY WORDS: MICT, HIIT, white adipose tissue, gene expression

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297925600012

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