Semaphorin 3C is a Novel Adipokine Representing Exercise-Induced Improvements of Metabolism in Metabolically Healthy Obese Young Males

Abstract

This study investigated the endurance exercise-induced changes in lesser known adipokines (visfatin, chemerin, apelin, semaphorin 3C) related to obesity and metabolism, and their correlations with the changes in the parameters of obesity and glucose homeostasis. Forty metabolically healthy obese young males were randomly assigned to control group (C, n=12) or exercise group (Ex, n=28). The subjects in Ex participated in a 8-week supervised endurance exercise training program, comprised of four sessions of treadmill running at 65-70% of VO2max per week. Serum levels of visfatin, chemerin, apelin, and semaphorin 3C were significantly decreased in Ex. At baseline, apelin and semaphorin 3C appeared to be correlated with obesity measures, including body mass index, % total fat and trunk fat, and waist circumference. Exercise-induced changes in these obesity measures significantly correlated with the changes in chemerin and semaphorin 3C. Basal chemerin, apelin and semaphorin 3C correlated with glucose homeostasis parameters, including fasting plasma glucose, fasting plasma insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and beta -cell function, and quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index to different extents. Furthermore, the changes in apelin and semaphorin 3C well predicted the improvements in glycemic parameters. We suggest that semaphorin 3C is a novel adipokine involved in pathophysiology of obesity and metabolism, and that it is a biomarker representing an exercise-induced improvement in metabolically healthy obese young males.