Figure 3: Skeletal muscle ACSL1 mRNA expression and relationship to whole-body fat oxidation.

A) ACSL1 mRNA expression following either a 12-week low-fat (LFD) or high-fat diet (HFD) in sedentary (SED) and aerobic exercise trained (EX-Tr) mice. B) Whole-body fat oxidation calculated from VO₂ and VCO₂ and normalized to body weight following a 4-hour fast during the light cycle to closely mimic physiologic conditions during which tissues were harvested. The effect of diet was analyzed by unpaired students t-test comparing HFD to LFD among sedentary mice. The effect of exercise training was analyzed by unpaired students t-test comparing EX-Tr to SED within each diet condition. Data are presented as mean and standard deviation with individual data points shown. C) Correlation analysis measuring the relationship of skeletal muscle ACSL1 protein abundance and whole-body fat oxidation following a 4 hour fast. LFD SED, white circle; HFD SED, gray circle; LFD EX-Tr, white square; HFD EX-Tr, gray square. Data are presented as individual data points. *P≤0.05 vs. LFD, #P≤0.05 vs. SED. n=10 for all conditions.