Research

Hormonal

Acute exercise triggers the release of 'exerkines' (such as IL-6, BNP, and FGF21) from various tissues, which act as systemic signals to coordinate energy mobilization, metabolic adaptation, and cross-tissue communication.

Understand that your muscles and organs 'talk' to each other during exercise through chemical signals called exerkines. This is why exercise benefits not just the muscles working, but also your heart, brain, and metabolism. Consistent exercise ensures these beneficial signals are regularly released.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Exerkines, broadly defined, are any molecule that signals the occurrence of acute exercise to other tissues, whether that be in an autocrine, paracrine, or endocrine fashion.
Daniel H. Katz et al. · Physiology · 2024

Why this rating

Well-established in literature reviewed, though some specific exerkine effects in humans are still being clarified.

Source

Charting the Molecular Terrain of Exercise: Energetics, Exerkines, and the Future of Multiomic Mapping

Daniel H. Katz et al. · Physiology · 2024

DOI 10.1152/physiol.00024.2024

narrative_reviewCited 9×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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