We all understand that exercise is beneficial for our health.
It plays a significant role in improving overall health and preventing diseases. However, the specific reasons behind the health benefits of exercise have not been fully comprehended.
Zhen Yan, a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, led a study that involved examining both male and female rats engaging in endurance exercise over an eight-week period. The study revealed thousands of molecular alterations, and these findings could have implications for human health, particularly in relation to liver disease, bowel disease, cardiovascular health, and tissue recovery.
Researchers have discovered numerous changes in the bodies of rats after they underwent endurance exercise training for eight weeks. The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium, of which Yan is a founding member, conducted the study and found thousands of molecular alterations in both male and female rats. These findings, which were published in May in Nature, have important implications for human health, particularly in liver disease, bowel disease, cardiovascular health, and tissue recovery.
Yan, who is also the director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, stated, “For most people in most situations, exercise is better than medicine.”te’s Center for Exercise Medicine Research and vice chairman of the International Research Group on Biochemistry of Exercise. “This data suggests that exercise can be a very potent and profound protection against diseases, such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and many others. This study unveiled things that we did not know, and I think it’s the beginning of revealing significant impacts of exercise in how it promotes health and prevents diseases.”
The National Institutes of Health funded the research. In addition to Yan, the study’s authors include Sarah Lessard, who in July will join the Fralin BiomediThe Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium conducted a study involving male and female rats over an 8-week period of endurance exercise. The study examined changes in blood, plasma, and 18 solid tissues, analyzing nearly 10,000 samples using 25 molecular platforms at four training stages. The researchers discovered thousands of molecular changes, with variations between the sexes in multiple tissues. These changes included the regulation of various metabolic pathways and gene expression. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Virginia Tech Metabolic Phenotyping Core and involved researchers from the Fralin Life Science Institute, the University of Florida, and the University of Michigan.
Research has shown that exercise can have a positive impact on the body’s immune, metabolic, and stress responses, as well as on mitochondrial pathways that are relevant to human health issues such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular health, and tissue recovery. Mitochondria, often referred to as the powerhouse of a cell, play a crucial role in producing chemical energy and regulating the cell cycle, cell growth, and cellular health.
According to Yan, no single medicine could have such widespread and long-lasting positive effects on the body as exercise. “The impact of exercise is far greater than any single medicine,” said Yan. “There are even studies showing that exercise during pregnancy can have a positive impact on the health of future generations.”
Children, and no single drug can accomplish that.”
The road ahead
According to Yan and the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium, this study has opened up new opportunities. One such opportunity is the necessity to broaden the research to resistance-based exercise training – such as weightlifting, resistance bands, and other methods of increasing muscle mass.
Furthermore, it is crucial to gain a thorough understanding of the factors that mediate the molecular changes.
“We need to analyze the health benefits we have discovered thus far,” Yan explained. “I have proposed a study that will specifically examine protein factors in the blood.
Yan is interested in the protein and humoral factors released by organs and tissues like the adrenal gland, muscles, and the heart in response to exercise. He wants to know if these factors are the true mediators of the health benefits of exercise, and how they coordinate cellular, biochemical, and molecular responses in target tissues and organs to achieve the benefits of regular exercise.
