Muscle-Adipose Tissue Cross Talk

Exercise training results in adaptations to both skeletal muscle and white adipose tissue (WAT) and protects against metabolic disorders including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Exercise-induced adaptations include an altered profile of secreted proteins, both myokines (from skeletal muscle) and adipokines (from adipose tissue). These secreted proteins may act in an endocrine manner to facilitate tissue-to-tissue communication and "cross talk," likely working together to improve overall metabolic health. Some studies suggest that contracting skeletal muscles release myokines that may function to alter the phenotype of WAT, including WAT "beiging," in which there is increased expression of beige marker genes and increased presence of multilocular cells within the WAT.