An extensive study analysed molecular changes due to exercise in laboratory rats. It revealed significant effects on the immune system, stress response, metabolism, and energy production.
The study gives a bodywide look at molecular changes, from proteins to genes to metabolites to fats and energy production effects of exercise.
New Delhi,UPDATED: May 2, 2024 17:28 IST
A vast study by researchers at Stanford Medicine analysed how exercise works in our body at the molecular level.
Researchers conducted nearly 10,000 measurements in nearly 20 types of tissues to uncover the effect of eight weeks of endurance exercise in laboratory rats trained to run on rodent-sized treadmills.
The results of the study, published in the journal Nature, highlighted striking effects of exercise on the immune system, stress response, energy production and metabolism.
"We all know exercise is beneficial for us," said professor of pathology Stephen Montgomery, author of the study. “But we don’t know much about the molecular signals that manifest across the body when people exercise, or how they may change when people train.
The study gives a bodywide look at molecular changes, from proteins to genes to metabolites to fats and energy production effects of exercise.
They performed 9,466 analyses on multiple tissues in rats as the animals were trained to run increasing distances and compared the results with those of rats that loafed about in their cages.
They paid special attention to the muscles of the leg, the heart, the liver, the kidney and a type of fat called white adipose tissue (the kind of fat that accumulates as pounds pile on).
Other tissues included the lungs, brain and brown adipose tissue (a more metabolically active type of fat that helps burn calories).
WHAT DID THE RESEARCHERS FIND?
The researchers noted that the expression of 22 genes changed with exercise in all six of the tissues they focused on.
Many of these genes were involved in what are known as heat shock pathways, which stabilise the structure of proteins when cells undergo stress.
This includes temperature changes (sweat), infection or tissue remodelling (new muscles).
Others have been implicated in pathways that reduce blood pressure and increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin, which lowers blood sugar levels.
The researchers also noted that the expression of several genes involved in type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity and kidney disease was reduced in exercising rats as compared with their sedentary counterparts.
Besides this, they identified sex differences in how multiple tissues in male and female rats responded to exercise.
Male rats lost about 5% of their body fat after eight weeks of exercise while female rats didn't lose a significant amount.
But the largest difference was observed in gene expression in the rats' adrenal glands.
After a week, male rats showed more genes linked to making steroid hormones like adrenaline and boosting energy, while female rats had fewer of these genes.
While the researchers are hopeful that more studies are required to understand how exercise works on the body, this is more like "the starting gun has just fired."
"But we might get closer to the idea of precision exercise — tailoring recommendations based on a person’s genetics, sex, age or other health conditions to generate beneficial whole-body responses," Montgomery said.
Published By:
Daphne Clarance
Published On:
May 2, 2024
English (US) ·