Table 1

Mainly direct biochemical changes related to exercise

Class of effect	Effector molecule or gene	Effect of exercise on effector molecule or gene
Cell growth regulators	IGF-1	Decreased levels32–36
Cell growth regulators	IGFBP3	Increased levels35 36
Proteins involved in DNA damage repair	BRCA1	Increased expression41–44
Proteins involved in DNA damage repair	BRCA2	Increased expression41–44
Androgen receptor coactivators	RAS family oncogenes	Suppressed activity40
Regulators of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest	P53	Enhanced activity43–45
Regulators of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest	Heat shock proteins	Enhanced activity55 61–66
Hormonal systems	Oestrogen	Reduced activity29 70 117 125–143
	Testosterone	Transient rise then reduced activity70–84
	VIP	Transient rise then reduced activity49 51–53
	Leptin	Reduced activity133 138–142 144
	Irisin	Enhanced activity85–90
	Resistin	Reduced activity123 124 145
Immune system components	Natural killer cells	Enhanced activity91–97
Immune system components	White cells	Enhanced activity91–94
Inflammation	C reactive protein, interleukin-6, TNFα	Reduced activity93–102
	Prostaglandins	Reduced activity106–114
	COX-2	Reduced activity106–114
Oxidative stress and antioxidant pathways	Glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase	Increased activity55 57 59 60

COX-2, cyclo-oxidase-2; IGF, insulin-like growth factor; IGFBP, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein; TNF, tumour necrosis factor; VIP, vasoactive intestinal peptide.