Effects of short-term exercise on plasma metabolic and lipidomic profiles of individuals with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia, with physical inactivity and excessive adiposity as predisposing factors. This clinical trial aimed to investigate the effects of an exercise intervention on the metabolome of T2DM participants, fasting and in response to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and an acute exercise stimulus. Thirteen people with T2DM (age 51 ± 7 years; body mass index 32.7 ± 4.9 kg/m2) completed 45 min of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise on 12 days consecutively. Blood samples were collected before and after the first and last training sessions and during a pre- and postintervention OGTT. Fasted blood samples were collected from 198 healthy control subjects and 208 people with T2DM from an independent cohort for comparison. Samples were analysed using high-resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The exercise intervention did not induce a shift towards a healthier fasted metabolome in people living with T2DM. In response to consumption of a glucose bolus (OGTT), glycolysis-related metabolites increased and free fatty acids decreased, with no effect of the exercise intervention. In response to acute exercise, glucose and amino acids decreased and free fatty acids increased, with similar responses on the last day of training as on the first day, indicating no effect of the intervention. The clinical trial was registered prospectively in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000286347 on 24 February 2017.