Systemic proteomic dynamics of acute exercise reveal genetic links to health and disease.
9 affiliations
- 1Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. [email protected].
- 2Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 3Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- 4Centre for Physical Activity Research, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 5Global translation, Måløv, Denmark.
- 6Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 7The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- 8Centre for Physical Activity Research, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. [email protected].
- 9Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. [email protected].
Abstract
Physical activity improves metabolic health, but the molecular responses that mediate its benefits are not fully characterized. Here we present a high-resolution, time-resolved proteomics atlas across plasma, saliva and urine from 25 healthy men in response to acute exercise. We find that exercise regulates more than 3,000 proteins through distinct, fluid-specific temporal dynamics. Network analysis uncovers coordinated remodelling of protein secretion, extracellular matrix and immune activation across body fluids. Replication in an independent cohort shows that many exercise-responsive plasma proteins exhibit consistent responses across age, sex and exercise modalities. Integration with human genome-wide association study data links secreted, exercise-responsive proteins to cardiometabolic diseases. Functional validation of genetically prioritized muscle-specific secreted proteins in Drosophila confirms their role in endurance, behaviour and metabolism. Overall, this open-access atlas ( https://cbmr.ku.dk/research/research-groups/deshmukh-group/shiny-apps/ ) provides a multifluid resource that complements existing exercise-omics efforts for defining molecular adaptations to exercise and for prioritizing candidate exerkines.
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BibTeX
@article{kurgan2026systemic,
title = {{Systemic proteomic dynamics of acute exercise reveal genetic links to health and disease.}},
author = {Nigel Kurgan and Jeppe Kjærgaard and Naja Zenius Jespersen and Virginia Díez-Obrero and Victor Svenstrup and Roger Moreno-Justicia and Sarah Elizabeth Heywood and Cecilie Bergmann Lindqvist and Lisa Ottander and Diana Samodova-Sommer and Alina Malita and Olga Kubrak and Nadja Ahrentløv and Nina Sloth Nielsen and Cody Garett Durrer and Michael Texada and Mathias Ried-Larsen and Simon Rasmussen and Kim Rewitz and Ruth J F Loos and Roelof Adriaan Johan Smit and Bente Klarlund Pedersen and Atul Shahaji Deshmukh},
journal = {Nature metabolism},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s42255-026-01621-w},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42864437},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Systemic proteomic dynamics of acute exercise reveal genetic links to health and disease.
AU - Nigel Kurgan
AU - Jeppe Kjærgaard
AU - Naja Zenius Jespersen
AU - Virginia Díez-Obrero
AU - Victor Svenstrup
AU - Roger Moreno-Justicia
AU - Sarah Elizabeth Heywood
AU - Cecilie Bergmann Lindqvist
AU - Lisa Ottander
AU - Diana Samodova-Sommer
AU - Alina Malita
AU - Olga Kubrak
AU - Nadja Ahrentløv
AU - Nina Sloth Nielsen
AU - Cody Garett Durrer
AU - Michael Texada
AU - Mathias Ried-Larsen
AU - Simon Rasmussen
AU - Kim Rewitz
AU - Ruth J F Loos
AU - Roelof Adriaan Johan Smit
AU - Bente Klarlund Pedersen
AU - Atul Shahaji Deshmukh
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Nature metabolism
DO - 10.1038/s42255-026-01621-w
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42864437
AB - Physical activity improves metabolic health, but the molecular responses that mediate its benefits are not fully characterized. Here we present a high-resolution, time-resolved proteomics atlas across plasma, saliva and urine from 25 healthy men in response to acute exercise. We find that exercise regulates more than 3,000 proteins through distinct, fluid-specific temporal dynamics. Network analysis uncovers coordinated remodelling of protein secretion, extracellular matrix and immune activation across body fluids. Replication in an independent cohort shows that many exercise-responsive plasma proteins exhibit consistent responses across age, sex and exercise modalities. Integration with human genome-wide association study data links secreted, exercise-responsive proteins to cardiometabolic diseases. Functional validation of genetically prioritized muscle-specific secreted proteins in Drosophila confirms their role in endurance, behaviour and metabolism. Overall, this open-access atlas ( https://cbmr.ku.dk/research/research-groups/deshmukh-group/shiny-apps/ ) provides a multifluid resource that complements existing exercise-omics efforts for defining molecular adaptations to exercise and for prioritizing candidate exerkines.
SN - 2522-5812
ER -