Kynurenines

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. In this study we identify a recycling mechanism by which muscle helps the body to get rid of a neurotoxic molecule (kynurenine) while using it to support energy production. This mechanism is induced by endurance exercise training and allows muscle cells to extract more energy from sugar, which enhances endurance exercise performance.

Exercise training is well known for increasing the energy our muscles use, reducing how much our adipose tissues stores, but also for changing our immune system. In this paper we found that during exercise, muscle secretes into circulation a small molecule (kynurenic acid) that activates a cell surface receptor (GPR35) in both fat cells and certain immune cells that reside in the adipose tissue. The result of this inter-organ communication is higher energy expenditure, and an anti-inflammatory state of the adipose tissue

Exercise can prevent or treat mild to moderate cases of stress-induced depression, although the mechanisms weren’t known. We found one mechanism that protects the brain from changes elicited by unpredictable stress, which are associated with the development of depression. In brief, if you train your muscles (through aerobic exercise), they acquire the capacity to filter out of the blood a molecule called kynurenine. Kynurenine is known to increase in circulation under stress and to accumulate in the brain, where it correlates with the development of depression.

In this article we review the current understanding of how exercise and trained muscles can change the levels of compounds that result from the degradation of the amino acid tryptophan (they’re called kynurenines or kynurenine metabolites). There are several of these molecules and they can have diverse effects on the body. We also speculate on what directions this field might take in the future

This is a review article that summarizes current knowledge on how some nutrients obtained from food play a dual role in human health: they provide energy and building blocks for cells and tissues, but they also constitute important messengers that can impact mental health or how an organism decides to store energy or use it

The amino acid tryptophan, which we get from food since our bodies cannot make it, has many different roles in the human body. We need it to make new proteins, but it is mostly used to generate many other molecules with different biological activities. From serotonin – that regulates mood, to melatonin – that regulates sleep, to a group of compounds called kynurenines that regulate many different processes in the body. This review summarizes what we known about the many roles of kynurenines

Find out what other things your protein shakes might be doing to you in addition to helping growing your muscles. Aminoacids in them are not just inert building blocks, they have biological functions on their own. And sometimes they might not have the same intentions as you expect them to.

The benefits of exercise are many. In these projects we try to uncover mediators of the positive adaptations to exercise to combat obesity.