Multi-omic responses to acute exercise in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue of sedentary adults: findings from MoTrPAC

Cheehoon Ahn; Christopher A. Jin; Katie L. Whytock; Gina M. Many; Tyler J. Sagendorf; James A. Sanford; Zhenxin Hou; Mark R. Viggars; Jia Nie; Sara E Espinoza; Nicolas Musi; Yifei Sun; Maria F. Pino; Patrick Hart; Daniel H. Katz; Hasmik Keshishian; Gregory R. Smith; Scott W. Trappe; Natalie M. Clark; Sue C. Bodine; Laurie J. Goodyear; Karyn Ann Esser; Christopher B. Newgard; Bryan C. Bergman; Joshua Adkins; Martin J. Walsh; Lauren Marie Sparks; the MoTrPAC study group

doi:10.64898/2026.03.05.702363

Systems BiologybioRxivMar 19, 2026

Preprint

Multi-omic responses to acute exercise in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue of sedentary adults: findings from MoTrPAC

Cheehoon Ahn iD, Christopher A. Jin iD, Katie L. Whytock iD, Gina M. Many iD, Tyler J. Sagendorf iD, James A. Sanford iD, Zhenxin Hou iD, Mark R. Viggars iD, Jia Nie iD, Sara E Espinoza iD, Nicolas Musi iD, Yifei Sun, Maria F. Pino iD, Patrick Hart, Daniel H. Katz iD, Hasmik Keshishian iD, Gregory R. Smith iD, Scott W. Trappe iD, Natalie M. Clark iD, Sue C. Bodine iD, Laurie J. Goodyear iD, Karyn Ann Esser iD, Christopher B. Newgard iD, Bryan C. Bergman iD, Joshua Adkins iD, , the MoTrPAC study group

Abstract

Exercise induces widespread health benefits across multiple tissues, yet the acute molecular responses in human adipose tissue remain poorly defined. The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) profiled temporal molecular changes in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) following a single bout of exercise. Healthy sedentary adults were randomized to endurance (EE), resistance (RE), or control (CON) groups. ASAT biopsies were collected pre-exercise and at 45min, 4hr, and 24hr post-exercise, followed by transcriptomic, proteomic, phosphoproteomic, and metabolomic analyses. EE and RE elicited distinct, time-resolved molecular programs involving angiogenesis, extracellular matrix remodeling, mitochondrial metabolism, substrate utilization, and circadian regulation. Phosphoproteomics revealed acute changes in cytoskeletal and branched-chain amino acid metabolism proteins associated with glycemic control. Temporal metabolomic shifts were cell-type-specific. Finally, we identified candidate adipose-derived exerkines with predicted endocrine actions. This multi-omic map of acute ASAT responses offers insight into adipose-specific mechanisms by which exercise promotes metabolic health.

PDF DOI