Relation between fat distributions and several plasma adipocytokines after exercise training in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

Circulating concentrations of adipocytokines, such as leptin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), vary with exercise training, menopause, or regional variations in adipose tissues. In the present study, the relationships between body fat distributions and some adipocytokines were compared in premenopausal (N = 9) and postmenopausal women (N = 9), before and after exercise training. The training for 10 weeks (that is, 3 days/week) consisted of aqua exercise plus resistance exercise. The training reduced percent fat, body mass index, total fat mass (TFM), subcutaneous fat mass (SFM), and plasma levels of leptin and PAI-1 in both women. Mean value of plasma TNF-alpha tended to increase after training in both women. Plasma leptin levels were lower in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women, independently of training. In premenopausal women, plasma leptin levels correlated well with either TFM or SFM before and after training. Regression analysis of decreases in plasma leptin with a reduced amount of SFM revealed that decreases in plasma leptin depended to a greater extent on a loss of SFM. In postmenopausal women, no significant correlation was found between leptin levels and any of the fat depots. Plasma TNF-alpha levels correlated well with visceral fat mass (VFM) in premenopausal but not in postmenopausal women. Changes in TNF-alpha levels after training correlated well with reduced amount of VFM in premenopausal but not in postmenopausal women. Plasma PAI-1 levels were not different between groups. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between PAI-1 levels and any of the fat depots in both women. Thus, in premenopausal but not in postmenopausal women, changes in plasma concentrations of leptin and TNF-alpha correlate well with specific alterations in relative amount of SFM and VFM after training, respectively. However, no significant relationship between PAI-1 and any of the fat depots was found independently of either menopause or training.