A groundbreaking research project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has shed new light on how all bodily tissues respond to exercise training in young adult rats. The study, which identified over 35,000 biological molecules that adapt to endurance exercise, revealed that even organs not typically associated with exercise show significant responses.
Differences in responses between male and female rats were observed, underscoring the importance of including both sexes in pre-clinical research. The study found changes in genes, proteins, and metabolites in 19 tissue types, with unique responses in each.
Notably, mitochondria in the adrenal gland were found to significantly respond to endurance training, showing regulation changes in nearly half of the mitochondria-associated genes. The study emphasized the need for inclusion of both sexes in future exercise research, as molecular responses differed between male and female rats.
To further deepen understanding of how the body responds to exercise, researchers are conducting a study in humans examining how responses vary based on age, sex, body composition, and fitness level. Data from the study is publicly available for analysis and download to encourage more hypotheses from the biomedical community.
The NIH Common Fund’s Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) aims to uncover how exercise improves and maintains health at the molecular level. Led by Concepcion Nierras, Ph.D., from the Office of the Director, Office of Strategic Coordination at NIH, the study was published in Nature and marks a significant step forward in exercise research.
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