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

Sep 28, 2026

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common metabolic disorder marked by chronic hyperglycaemia, where physical inactivity and excess adiposity contribute to risk. This clinical trial evaluated how an exercise intervention affects the metabolome in people with T2DM during fasting, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and an acute exercise stimulus. Thirteen participants completed 45 min moderate treadmill training on 12 consecutive days, with metabolomic profiling from fasting and OGTT samples using high-resolution 1H NMR and LC–MS.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and diagnostic role of OGTT

Exercise effects on glycaemic control and metabolic outcomes

DOI: 10.1113/EP092768 RESEARCH ARTICLE Effects of short-term exercise on plasma metabolic and lipidomic profiles of individuals with type 2 diabetes Maartje Cox1 Aaron Raman1, 2 Timothy Fairchild2, 3 Bu B. Yeap5, 6 Jeremy K. Nicholson1, 7, 8 Julien Wist1, 7, 8, 9 Nathan G. Lawler1, 7 John P. Beilby4 Jeremiah Peiffer2, 3 1Australian National Phenome Centre, Health Futures Institute, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 2School of Allied Health, College of Health and Education, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 3 Centre for Healthy Ageing, Health Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 4School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 5 Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 6 Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 7 Centre for Computational and Systems Medicine, Health Futures Institute, Harry Perkins Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 8 Faculty of Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Division of Digestive Diseases, Imperial College, London, UK 9 Chemistry Department, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia Correspondence Nathan G. Lawler; Australian National Phenome Centre, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, 5 Robin Warren Drive, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia. Email: [nathan.lawler@murdoch.edu.au](nathan.lawler@murdoch.edu.au) Funding information German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); Bruker BioSpin; Murdoch University Handling Editor: Harry Rossiter 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 apre- 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 1 H 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), glycolysisrelated 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 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2025 The Author(s). Experimental Physiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Physiological Society. COX ET AL. was registered prospectively in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000286347 on 24 February 2017. KEYWORDS exercise, lipidomics, metabolomics, oral glucose tolerance test, type 2 diabetes mellitus 1 INTRODUCTION Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a highly prevalent (>400 million patients worldwide) metabolic disorder characterized by chronically elevated bloo

FAQs

What clinical question did the trial address?

The trial investigated whether short-term exercise alters the metabolome of individuals with type 2 diabetes during fasting, in response to OGTT, and after an acute exercise stimulus.

How was the exercise intervention delivered in the study?

Thirteen participants with T2DM completed 45 minutes of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise on 12 consecutive days, with blood sampling around the first and last training sessions and during pre- and postintervention OGTT.

What metabolomic methods were used for sample analysis?

Fasted and other blood samples were analysed using high-resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Genevieve