Cell Reports Medicine: Short Sprints Trigger Changes in the Body Linked to Protection Against Diabetes and Obesity

Just a few minutes of intense sprinting can trigger far more extensive molecular changes in the body than prolonged moderate exercise, according to a study by researchers at Rockefeller University.

The findings were published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

The researchers compared the body’s response to different types and levels of physical activity. Participants performed six 30-second sprints at maximum intensity. Immediately after the workout, changes were detected in nearly one-quarter of the blood proteins measured. By comparison, 90 minutes of moderate continuous cycling altered less than 0.25% of the proteins.

Intense sprinting also caused changes in more than 200 metabolites and triggered a sharp release into the bloodstream of proteins involved in blood vessel formation, tissue repair, and hormonal regulation.

According to the researchers, some of these proteins enter the bloodstream through a specialized cellular signaling mechanism known as ectodomain shedding. In this process, proteins already present on the surface of cells are not newly synthesized; instead, fragments are rapidly cleaved off and released into the bloodstream.

The researchers also examined how blood collected after intense exercise affected human fat cells. Exposure to this blood altered the activity of numerous genes in the cells, causing them to process energy differently, respond differently to hormones, and change how they regulated nutrient availability.

Moderate exercise produced a much weaker response. Significant changes in the levels of fatty acids and proteins produced by the liver in response to prolonged exercise became apparent only about three hours after the workout. Fat cells exposed to blood collected after moderate cycling also showed only minor changes in gene activity.

The scientists then compared the identified proteins with health data from more than 53,000 people in the UK Biobank. Many of these proteins were associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

The association was particularly notable for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Of the 33 proteins linked to a lower risk of metabolic diseases, 32 changed after sprint exercise, while only three changed after moderate exercise. More than one-quarter of these proteins were also associated with slower biological aging.

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