How Exercise Changes Our DNA

An article appearing in The New York Times  written by Gretchen Reynolds gave an overview of a study published in Epigenetics. The study researched how exercise makes epigenetic changes mainly through a process of methylation. Scientists are aware that certain genes become more active or quieter as a result of exercise.  However, they hadn't understood how those genes know how to respond to exercise. 

A study from researchers at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm recruited 23 young and healthy men and women in order to study the epigenetic changes exercise has on DNA. The participants were asked to exercise one leg on a stationary bike for 45 minutes at a time for 5 days a week over a 3-month period. After that period, sophisticated genomic analysis was used to analyze muscle cells. It was determined that on average more than 5,000 sites on the genome of the muscle cells from the exercised leg featured new methylation patterns.

The researchers admitted that more studies have to be performed for more information on this topic but they feel the design of the study is beneficial because one individual essentially is the experimental and the control.  This helps weed out other factors that may influence epigenetic changes in muscle cells. Dr. Lindholm, a researcher form the study said, “Through endurance training-a lifestyle change that is easily available for most people and doesn't cost much money.....we can induce changes that affect how we use our genes and, through that, get healthier and more functional muscles that ultimately improve our quality of life." 

We all know exercise and diet influence our health dramatically.  It was interesting to learn that exercise changes so many aspects of our body including the expression of our DNA.  Like Dr.  Lindholm said exercise is available to most of us and I think it is so important for us to take care of our bodies; after all we only get one of them.  I know next time I am on the treadmill I will be thinking about how I am influencing the methylation patterns of my DNA.   

Correlations Found Between Exercise and Antihistamine Intake

Histamine is a well kown neurotransmitter and commonlly associated with "the immune response to the presence of invading bodies" such as pollen.  Often times, this response is overexhibited by the body in instances like the previously considered pollen example.  Thus, antihistamines are typically employed to mitigate this overreaction induced by the immune system.
In frequent exercisers, this inhibition of the natural output of the histamine compound may not be worth clearing a stuffy nose however.  Researchers working at the University of Oregon have recently discovered that antihistamines have an effect on the expression of genes involved in  muscle and blood vessel recovery. "After vigorous exercise, some 3,000 genes go to work to aid recovery by boosting muscles and blood vessels, but in the presence of high doses of antihistamines almost 27 percent of the gene response is blunted, according to University of Oregon researchers."  This 27%, or about 800 genes, that becomes blunted by antihistamine intake could play a significant role in post-workout recovery.  Oregonian researchers made  no conclusive claims about whether or not antihistamines should be avoided during exercise.  However their study showed clear evidence that 88% of the genes that were affected by antihistamines responded with decreased expression.  This could have very serious societal effects if the implications of this study are taken seriously.  The pharmaceutical industry could potentially take a big hit and athletics could greatly improve the yield of their workout if this becomes a trend.

Genetically Identical Twins Versus Exercise

In a fascinating new study researchers in Finland have begun to show how exercising shapes our health. In this study they have taken two identical twin who have identical genes and nurturing. These twins have played the same sports and other physical activities but have developed different exercises habits. The researchers then proceeded to mapped out how this difference in exercise has effected their bodies and brains. In order to determine the long term effect of exercise and how it directly causes a change in a person's body, researchers must preform a large scale experiment. There will be controlled trials where half  of the control group will exercise and the other half will not.

Genes play a role in exercise. Genes can affect our endurance level, how well we respond to different types of vigorous activities, and they even control whether we enjoy working out. Along with genes the person upbringing influences their exercise habits. In this study it is pertinent to have identical twins because their DNA are the same. If the twins were brought up within the same upbringing it makes them even more important to the experiment. In past studies, the one twin that had stopped their workout routine over the years tend to age differently, was at greater risk for poor health, and died early than the twin that kept up with his workout habits.

 In more recent studies these researchers have focused on younger twins. When the genetically identical twins were studied it showed they were very medically different . The one twin who had stopped exercising had low endurance levels, higher body fat percentage, and a metabolic problem. Even though the twins ate similar foods their diet contributed very little to the health differences. When looking at the twin brain the active twin had more gray matter where the motor control and coordination is than the sedentary twin. This study shows that working out and exercise is important and can contribute to a longer and healthier life. The researchers have shown that exercise is a crucial part of living life to it full extent.

Exercise Causes Epigenetic Modifications to DNA

     An article in Medical News Today from March 7, 2012 referred to a report in a recent issue of Cell Metabolism stating that DNA can be changed by exercise. The study also found that caffeine can change muscle in the same way. The genetic code of the muscle is not changed with exercise, the DNA molecules of the muscle are structurally and chemically changed in significant ways. The exercise will modify DNA as early stages of genetic reprogramming of the muscle's strength.

     These changes to the DNA are called epigenetic modifications and have to do with the loss or gain of chemical marks on DNA. These chemical marks are above the normal sequence of As, Ts, Cs, and Gs. The new findings explain that DNA in skeletal muscle from people that have exercised have fewer chemical marks than they did before the exercise. Stretches of DNA that turn "on" genes important for muscles effected by exercise are the ones that experience the change. Muscles made to contract in lab dishes lost DNA methyl groups and caffeine had the same effect as well.

     Basically, the study shows more evidence that human genomes are stronger than were originally thought. Epigenetic changes that cause genes to go on and back off are very flexible occurrences. They are what  enable DNA in human cells to change as their environment changes. Researchers believe exercise can be medicinal. A means to change genomes for better health can be done simply by exercising. Hopefully, for those who cannot exercise, caffeine might have the same benefits for their health.