Blood Biochemical Responses to Acute Exercise: Findings from the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC)

Abstract

Exercise benefits numerous organ systems and tissues, including those not directly involved in locomotor activity. However, the molecular responses to exercise are only partially understood, and identifying circulating biochemical changes may provide further insights into how exercise confers systemic health benefits. Here, we perform large-scale plasma proteomic, metabolomic, and whole blood transcriptional profiling in sedentary human participants undergoing acute endurance exercise, resistance exercise, or a non-exercise control in up to 7 timepoints over a 24-hour period. We identify shared biochemical responses between exercise modes, but also numerous differences in immune responses, lipid metabolism, and pathways reflective of tissue repair and angiogenesis. Integrative analyses of blood and muscle identify differential molecular responses that reflect baseline variation in cardiorespiratory fitness. Taken together, our findings highlight novel temporal and exercise mode-specific, blood-based molecular responses to acute exercise and provide a new resource for the scientific community.