A group of scientists said that they have come up with a blueprint for exercise. They claimed that their breakthrough research could pave the way for the creation of exercise-stimulating pills that can possibly save people the time they spend at the gym.
David James, from the University of Sydney, and colleagues conducted an analysis of biopsy samples of the skeletal muscles of four untrained but healthy males after engaging in a high intensity exercise for 10 minutes.
They found that short but intensive exercise triggers over 1,000 changes in the body, which means that any drug that would mimic exercise has to target multiple molecules and even pathways.
The findings of the research, which were published in the journal Cell Metabolism, exposed the 1,000 molecular changes that happen in the muscles of the body during exercise.
"We undertook a global analysis of protein phosphorylation in human skeletal muscle biopsies from untrained healthy males before and after a single high-intensity exercise bout, revealing 1,004 unique exercise-regulated phosphosites on 562 proteins," the researchers wrote. "These included substrates of known exercise-regulated kinases (AMPK, PKA, CaMK, MAPK, mTOR), yet the majority of kinases and substrate phosphosites have not previously been implicated in exercise signaling."
James and colleagues said that the study provides the first ever comprehensive blueprint that could be used for developing drugs that can mimic the benefits of exercise.
"Most traditional drugs target individual molecules. With this exercise blueprint we have proven that any drug that mimics exercise will need to target multiple molecules and possibly even pathways, which are a combination of molecules working together," James said. "We believe this is the key to unlocking the riddle of drug treatments to mimic exercise."
Engaging in physical activities has been known to provide the body with a range of health benefits. James said that exercise is a very powerful therapy for diseases such as cardiovascular diseases , type 2 diabetes and neurological disorders.
For some, however, exercise is not a viable treatment option, and this necessitates the development of drugs that mimic the benefits associated with physical activities.
Ismail Laher, from the University of British Columbia, who also conducts a similar study on exercise pills, said that such a drug could be appealing to people with spinal injury given the difficulties they have in exercising. Lack of exercise in this group of people can result in detrimental changes to the body.
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