Just Three Minutes of Sprinting Alters Blood Chemistry, Study Finds

Researchers at Rockefeller found that three minutes of intense sprinting altered the bloodstream unlike much longer moderate exercise. Six 30-second, all-out sprints changed nearly one quarter of the proteins measured immediately afterward. Ninety minutes of moderate cycling affected fewer than one quarter of one percent of those proteins; treadmill running changed more than cycling but still far fewer than sprinting.

The effects went beyond proteins. Sprinting changed more than 200 metabolites, small molecules produced during metabolism, and raised proteins involved in blood vessel growth, tissue remodeling, and hormonal signaling. Some reached the bloodstream through ectodomain shedding, a rapid process in which portions of proteins already on cell surfaces are cut away and released into circulation rather than newly made. Human fat cells exposed to that blood showed widespread shifts in gene activity affecting fuel processing, hormone responses, and nutrient sensing.

Moderate exercise produced a smaller, slower response. A wave of fatty acids and proteins from the liver, which commonly appear as the body responds to endurance exercise, did not emerge until three hours later. Human fat cells exposed to blood taken after moderate cycling showed only modest changes in gene activity.

The researchers compared proteins affected by exercise with health data from more than 53,000 UK Biobank participants. Many were linked to lower risks of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, especially obesity and type 2 diabetes. Of 33 proteins associated with lower disease risk, sprinting altered 32, while moderate exercise changed only three; more than a quarter were also linked to slower biological aging. "What's exciting here is that just a few minutes of intense exercise can trigger a significant molecular response," says Paul Cohen. Luke Olsen notes that "exerkines–proteins and metabolites released into the bloodstream following exercise–are highly sensitive to exercise intensity and may be the key mediators of the health-promoting effects of short bursts of vigorous exercise."

The study was published in Cell Reports Medicine.