Abstract

Exercise induces beneficial adaptations in virtually every tissue and cell in the body. While the benefits of exercise were originally thought to arise from local effects, at least in skeletal muscle, it is becoming clear that there is extensive communication between tissues which contributes to the systemic adaptations of exercise. Exercise induces the secretion of signalling factors from skeletal muscle (myokines), adipose tissue (adipokines), and the liver (hepatokines), and these factors work in an autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine manner to coordinate the adaptive response to exercise. This chapter will discuss emerging evidence linking muscle (interleukin-6, interleukin-15, myostatin), adipose tissue (leptin, adiponectin, tumour growth factor beta), and liver (fibroblast growth factor 21, follistatin, angiopoietin-like protein 4) derived signalling molecules to the acute and chronic response to exercise. In addition, mechanisms which trigger the secretion of these “exerkines” will be discussed.