Salk Institute maps molecular response to exercise across 22 tissues

Salk Institute researchers compared mice that ran on wheels for eight weeks with sedentary mice, building a first-of-its-kind molecular atlas spanning 22 tissues. Exercise altered nearly half the genes examined in at least one tissue, but no single gene changed across all 22. The study was published in Cell on October 15, 2026.

• Atlas covers 22 tissues, metabolomics of eight tissues and proteomics of four leg muscles
• Skeletal muscle accounted for most of the changes in gene activity
• Female mice showed broader gene and epigenetic responses than males
• Researchers derived a 51-gene exercise signature from the dataset