TGF-β1 downregulation in the hypothalamus of obese mice through acute exercise

Obesity and aging lead to abnormal transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signaling in the hypothalamus, triggering the imbalance on glucose metabolism and energy homeostasis. Here, we determine the effect of acute exercise on TGF-β1 expression in the hypothalamus of two models of obesity in mice. The bioinformatics analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between hypothalamic Tgf-β1 messenger RNA (mRNA) and genes related to thermogenesis in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) by using a large panel of isogenic BXD mice. Thereafter, leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice and obese C57BL/6 mice fed on a high-fat diet (HFD) were submitted to the acute exercise protocol. Transcriptomic analysis by using BXD mouse reference population database revealed that hypothalamic Tgf-β1 mRNA is negatively correlated with genes related to thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue of BXD mice, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator and is positively correlated with respiratory exchange ratio. In agreement with these results, leptin-deficient (ob/ob) and HFD-fed mice displayed high levels of Tgf-β1 mRNA in the hypothalamus and reduction of Pgc1α mRNA in BAT. Interestingly, an acute exercise session reduced TGF-β1 expression in the hypothalamus, increased Pgc1α mRNA in the BAT and reduced food consumption in obese mice. Our results demonstrated that acute physical exercise suppressed hypothalamic TGF-β1 expression, increasing Pgc1α mRNA in BAT in obese mice.