Exercise alters molecular profiles of inflammation and substrate metabolism in human white adipose tissue

White adipose tissue (WAT) plays a significant role in whole-body energy homeostasis, and its excess typifies obesity. In addition to WAT quantity, perturbations in the basic cellular processes of WAT (i.e. quality) are also associated with obesity and metabolic disease. Exercise training alleviates metabolic perturbations associated with obesity; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms that drive these metabolic adaptations in WAT are not well described. Abdominal subcutaneous WAT biopsies were collected after an acute bout of exercise (1 day after) at baseline and following three weeks of supervised aerobic training in sedentary overweight women (n = 6) without alterations in body weight and fat mass. RNA-seq, global proteomics, and phosphoproteomics in WAT revealed training-induced changes in 1527 transcripts, 154 proteins, and 144 phosphosites, respectively. Training decreased abundance of transcripts and proteins involved in inflammation and components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and increased abundance of transcripts and proteins related with fatty acid esterification and lipolysis. In summary, short-term aerobic training significantly reduces local inflammation and increases lipid metabolism in WAT of sedentary overweight women – independent of alterations in body and fat mass. As such, some of the health benefits of aerobic training may occur through molecular alterations in WAT (i.e. enhanced quality) rather than a sheer reduction in WAT quantity.