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Differences in macrophage polarization in the adipose tissue of obese mice under various levels of exercise intensity

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Abstract

Animal studies have demonstrated that the ratio of M1 (M1Φ) to M2 (M2Φ) macrophage-specific gene expression in adipose tissue (AT) may be altered by chronic exercise; however, whether macrophage polarization is induced under these conditions has not yet been reported. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of chronic exercise on M1Φ/M2Φ polarization in the AT of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Exercise-induced differences in M1Φ/M2Φ polarization were verified via an exercise intensity study (EIS) in which different levels of exercise intensity were evaluated. Obesity was induced in male C57BL/6 J mice by feeding them with an HFD for 6 weeks. The study consisted of four groups: control group (CON), HFD-fed group (HFD), HFD-fed with exercise group (HFD + EXE), dietary conversion from HFD to normal diet (ND) group (DC), and dietary conversion from HFD to ND group (DC + EXE). For EIS, the HFD + EXE group was divided into three subgroups: low- (LI), mid- (MI), and high- (HI) intensity exercise. The total intervention period was 8 weeks. M1Φ/M2Φ polarization was confirmed by flow cytometry. M2Φ polarization in the AT of obese mice was significantly higher in HFD + EXE mice than in HFD mice, despite the HFD intake. In the EIS, M2Φ polarization was most pronounced in HFD + EXE-HI mice than in HFD mice. It can be proposed that the enhanced insulin resistance and inflammation by obesity can be improved by the increase of M2Φ polarization which is achieved by relatively high-intensity exercise.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2018R1A6A3A01011328).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Sport Science, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea

    Kyung-Wan Baek

  2. Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, South Korea

    Kyung-Wan Baek, Da-In Lee, Shin Ae Kang & Hak Sun Yu

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Correspondence to Hak Sun Yu.

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All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Animal Care and Use and Committee of Pusan National University (approval number, PNU-2017-1669).

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Key Points

• Regular chronic exercise downregulates Icam-1 & Tnf in adipose tissue of obese mice

• Regular chronic exercise upregulates Arg1 in adipose tissue of obese mice

• It increases M2 macrophage polarization in adipose tissue of obese mice

• High-intensity exercise may increase M2 macrophage polarization in adipose tissue

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Baek, KW., Lee, DI., Kang, S.A. et al. Differences in macrophage polarization in the adipose tissue of obese mice under various levels of exercise intensity. J Physiol Biochem 76, 159–168 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-020-00731-7

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