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How exercise training promotes a sound mind in a sound body

Date:
February 6, 2018
Source:
Karolinska Institutet
Summary:
A new study shows that the same mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of exercise training on the brain also help to counteract fat and to strengthen the immune system. The results may ultimately give rise to new obesity and diabetes drugs.
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A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that the same mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of exercise training on the brain also help to counteract fat and to strengthen the immune system. The results, which are published in the journal Cell Metabolism, can ultimately give rise to new obesity and diabetes drugs.

In 2014, researchers at Karolinska Institutet reported that they had discovered a mechanism behind the beneficial effect of exercise training on the brain. A follow-up study now demonstrates that the same process also boosts fat metabolism and strengthens the anti-inflammatory properties of the immune system.

"We've linked the two parts of the expression 'sound mind, sound body'," says Jorge Ruas, principal investigator at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet. "Our research adds to the understanding of why exercise training benefits the body and in the long run can lead to the development of new treatments for obesity or diabetes."

In the earlier study, the researchers were able to show that trained muscles help to clean the blood in a way similar to the kidneys and liver. Through exercise training, the muscles can convert the stress marker kynurenine into kynurenic acid. High levels of kynurenine have been measured in people with depression and mental illness.

For this present study, the researchers further examined the function of kynurenic acid. Using mice fed on a fat-rich diet that made them overweight and raised their blood sugar levels, they found that a daily dose of kynurenic acid stopped the mice putting on weight and gave them better glucose tolerance, despite no change in their food intake.

The researchers posit the explanation that kynurenic acid activated the cell receptor GPR35, which is found in both fat cells and immune cells. This led in the former to a conversion of white fat into energy-burning brown fat, and in the latter to an enhancement of their anti-inflammatory properties.

"We've shown that kynurenic acid prevents weight gain despite excessive energy intake," says Dr Ruas. "Our next step is to identify the complex chain of interacting molecules that's affected by diet and training."


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Materials provided by Karolinska Institutet. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Leandro Z. Agudelo, Duarte M. S. Ferreira, Igor Cervenka, Galyna Bryzgalova, Shamim Dadvar, Paulo R. Jannig, Amanda T. Pettersson-Klein, Tadepally Lakshmikanth, Elahu G. Sustarsic, Margareta Porsmyr-Palmertz, Jorge C. Correia, Manizheh Izadi, Vicente Martínez-Redondo, Per M. Ueland, Øivind Midttun, Zachary Gerhart-Hines, Petter Brodin, Teresa Pereira, Per-Olof Berggren, and Jorge L. Ruas. Kynurenic acid and GPR35 regulate adipose tissue energy homeostasis and inflammation. Cell Metabolism, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.01.004

Cite This Page:

Karolinska Institutet. "How exercise training promotes a sound mind in a sound body." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 February 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180206140630.htm>.
Karolinska Institutet. (2018, February 6). How exercise training promotes a sound mind in a sound body. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180206140630.htm
Karolinska Institutet. "How exercise training promotes a sound mind in a sound body." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180206140630.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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