Exercise causes molecular changes in major organs • Earth.com

Although the benefits of exercise for overall health are well recognized, the complex biological responses elicited at the cellular level by physical activity have only recently been explored in depth.

A groundbreaking study involving a range of scientific experts from several US institutions has significantly advanced our understanding of this complex phenomenon.

The scientists used a range of advanced techniques to investigate the molecular changes that take place in different organs during periods of intense exercise.

The study found that physical activity influences a wide range of cellular and molecular mechanisms in all 19 organs analyzed in the rats used for the experiment.

The findings show that the body’s adaptation to exercise extends far beyond muscle growth and cardiovascular health, and also includes significant changes in organs such as the heart, brain and lungs.

Understanding the molecular benefits of exercise

The study was part of an ambitious initiative, the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC), which launched in 2016.

This project brings together researchers from prestigious institutions such as the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Stanford University and the National Institutes of Health.

The consortium involved leading scientists who envisioned a comprehensive analysis of the effects of exercise at the molecular level. The project was originally conceived by Steve Carr, senior director of Broad’s Proteomics Platform.

Focus of the research

“Regular exercise provides far-reaching health benefits, including reduced risks of all-cause mortality, cardiometabolic and neurological diseases, cancer, and other pathologies,” the study authors wrote.

“Exercise affects nearly all organ systems in improving health or reducing disease risk, with beneficial effects resulting from cellular and molecular adaptations within and between many tissues and organ systems.”

“Several ‘omic’ platforms (‘omes’), including transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics and metabolomics, have been used to study these events. However, work to date typically covers one or two omes at a single time point, focuses on one gender, and often focuses on a single tissue, usually skeletal muscle, heart, or blood, with few studies of other tissues.

“Accordingly, a comprehensive, organism-wide, multi-omic map of the effects of exercise is needed to understand the molecular underpinnings of exercise training-induced adaptations.”

Extremely valuable resource

The comprehensive study not only examined tissues from different organs, but also revealed how these organs help regulate immune responses, stress responses, and even pathways associated with chronic conditions such as inflammatory liver disease and heart disease.

“It took a village of scientists from diverse scientific backgrounds to generate and integrate the enormous amount of high-quality data produced,” says Carr.

“This is the first whole-organism map to look at the effects of training in multiple different organs. The resource produced will be enormously valuable and has already provided many potentially new biological insights for further research.”

Molecular changes due to exercise

One of the most important revelations was the discovery of molecular changes that could explain why the liver becomes less fatty during exercise. Such insights could pave the way for new treatments for conditions such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Additionally, the research team hopes that their findings can eventually be used to personalize exercise plans based on an individual’s health status or to develop therapeutic strategies that mimic the benefits of physical activity for people who cannot exercise regularly.

The data from this extensive study has been made public in the journal Natureallowing other researchers to access this information and use it for further research.

A basis for future discoveries

The joint effort of the teams involved required significant coordination, as highlighted by Clary Clish, one of the lead researchers. “The amount of coordination that all the laboratories involved in this research had to do was phenomenal.”

This meticulous planning allowed for nearly 10,000 tests, resulting in approximately 15 million blood and solid tissue measurements.

Through these efforts, researchers observed that exercise affects thousands of molecules, with notable changes occurring in the adrenal gland, which plays a crucial role in regulating immunity, metabolism and blood pressure.

Additionally, the study revealed sex-specific differences in the immune response, providing a nuanced understanding of how exercise affects men and women differently over time.

As research continues, these insights provide a promising frontier for improving human health through a more refined understanding of the molecular benefits of exercise.

The groundbreaking study not only advances our understanding of the biological responses to physical activity, but also sets the stage for tailored health interventions that could one day revolutionize personal health and well-being.

“Overall, this multi-omic resource serves as a broadly useful reference material for studying the milieu of molecular changes in endurance training adaptation and offers new opportunities to understand the effects of exercise on health and disease,” concluded the researchers.

The research has been published in the journal Nature.

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