Exercise's Complex Molecular Effects Revealed
Exercise causes complex cellular and molecular changes in all 19 organs studied in rats, providing clues for human health conditions.
Scientists have demonstrated that physical activity causes many cellular and molecular changes in many organs of the body.
- A new study shows that physical activity causes many cellular and molecular changes in all 19 organs studied in rats.
- The research, conducted by the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC), analyzed molecular changes in rats as they were put through weeks of intense exercise.
- The team found that each organ changed with exercise, helping the body regulate the immune system, respond to stress, and control pathways connected to inflammatory liver disease, heart disease, and tissue injury.
- The data provide potential clues into many different human health conditions, such as the possible explanation for why the liver becomes less fatty during exercise, which could help in the development of new treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- The study hopes that their findings could one day be used to tailor exercise to an individual’s health status or to develop treatments that mimic the effects of physical activity for people who are unable to exercise.
- The research has already started studies on humans to track the molecular effects of exercise.
- The team found sex differences in several organs, particularly related to the immune response over time. Most immune-signaling molecules unique to females showed changes in levels between one and two weeks of training, whereas those in males showed differences between four and eight weeks.
- Some responses were consistent across sexes and organs, such as an increase in acetylation of mitochondrial proteins involved in energy production, and in a phosphorylation signal that regulates energy storage, both in the liver that changed during exercise.