SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
This article is part of the Research TopicExercise-induced protein modifications: Regulatory networks and therapeutic implicationsView all 4 articles
Acute and Chronic Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Selected Exerkine Secretion in Health, Disease, and Aging: A Systematic Review
Provisionally accepted
Zbigniew Jost1*
Agata Rozynkowska1Michalina Głąb1Alicja Sitkiewicz1Mia Goiko1Radosław Laskowski1
Fabian Herold2Zsolt Radák3
Sylwester Kujach1,4- 1Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Gdańsk, Poland
- 2HMU Health and Medical University Erfurt GmbH, Erfurt, Germany
- 3Hungarian University of Sports Science, Budapest, Hungary
- 4Gdanski Uniwersytet Medyczny, Gdańsk, Poland
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In contemporary research practice, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has received growing attention compared to other types of endurance training (e.g., moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT)). This is primarily related to HIIT's ability to induce higher metabolic stress, driving an increased exerkine secretory response (i.e., of specific proteins) compared to MICT. To date, previous reviews on HIIT have primarily focused on single exerkines, while a more comprehensive analysis, as required to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complex exercise-related physiological processes, is absent. To reduce non-exercise protocol-related outcome heterogeneity, the rigorous inclusion criteria (i.e., exercise intensity in the HIIT adjusted for the target population of healthy, diseased, or older individuals, and not taking any medications) were applied. A total of 39 studies were selected for the systematic review, with fourteen, twenty-two, and three for the acute, chronic, and both acute and chronic effects of HIIT on exerkine concentrations, respectively. Acute HIIT appears to result in greater changes in BDNF and VEGF concentration than the control group performing lower-intensity exercise or no exercise. Metabolically active exerkine, such as adiponectin, mainly fluctuates among overweight and obese participants. This systematic review did not yield any definitive results regarding alterations in IGF-1, irisin, cortisol, and interleukin levels. Tendentially, HIIT is more effective than MICT and non-exercise interventions to induce a greater secretory response of certain exerkines, such as BDNF, VEGF and adiponectin. Evidence regarding exerkine secretion in response to HIIT among older adults remains limited, highlighting the need for further investigation.
Keywords: Aging, Disease, exerkine, Health, High-intensity interval training
Received: 27 Oct 2025; Accepted: 15 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jost, Rozynkowska, Głąb, Sitkiewicz, Goiko, Laskowski, Herold, Radák and Kujach. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zbigniew Jost
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