Effects of Exercise Training on Molecular Markers of Lipogenesis and Lipid Partitioning in Fructose-Induced Liver Fat Accumulation

The present study was designed to investigate the impact of exercise training on lipogenic gene expression in liver and lipid partitioning following the ingestion of a high fructose load. Female rats were exercise-trained for 8 wk or kept sedentary before being submitted to a fasting/refeeding protocol. Rats were further subdivided as follow: rats were fasted for 24 h, refed a standard diet for 24 h, starved for another 24 h, and refed with a standard or a high-fructose diet 24 h before sacrifice. Fructose refeeding was associated with an increase in hepatic lipid content, endocannabinoid receptor 1, sterol regulatory element-binding protein1c, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase1 gene expression in both Sed and TR rats. However, desaturation indexes measured in liver (C16 : 1/C16 : 0 and C18 : 1/C18 : 0) and plasma (C18 : 1/C18 : 0) were higher (P < 0.01) in TR than in Sed rats following fructose refeeding. It is concluded that exercise training does not significantly affect fat accumulation and the molecular expression of genes involved in lipogenesis after fasting and fructose refeeding but does modify the partitioning of lipids so as to provide more unsaturated fatty acids in liver without affecting liver fat content.