Exercise physiology increasingly recognizes the essential role of protein post-translational modifications (PTMs), such as phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, glycosylation, and lactylation, in mediating adaptive responses to physical exercise. These modifications critically regulate cellular signaling, metabolic processes, stress responses, and protein stability, thereby profoundly impacting physiological adaptation. Recent research has highlighted exercise-triggered PTM changes, uncovering dynamic shifts regulated via kinase-phosphatase balance and epigenetic mechanisms affecting histone modifications. Although there has been significant progress in elucidating how PTMs contribute to exercise-driven mitochondrial biogenesis, muscle remodeling, and synaptic plasticity, considerable gaps remain regarding the detailed molecular regulatory networks and exact physiological mechanisms behind these modifications. Addressing these scientific questions holds potential for enhancing personalized exercise prescriptions and advancing precision therapeutic interventions targeting disease states.
This Research Topic aims to comprehensively explore the molecular mechanisms, dynamic characteristics, and physiological roles of PTMs induced by exercise. It intends to uncover how these modifications mediate adaptive responses to physical activity and how modifying PTMs influences metabolic diseases, neural functions, aging-associated conditions, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer. By examining critical signaling pathways (AMPK/mTOR, NF-κB etc.), epigenetic regulation, and exercise-responsive molecular targets, this topic also aims to identify PTMs-related biomarkers useful in clinical practice, potentially enabling predictive diagnostics and personalized exercise interventions.
To gather further insights within the molecular mechanisms and physiological consequences of exercise-induced PTMs, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Spatiotemporal dynamic mapping and characterization of PTMs in response to exercise.
• Molecular pathways and regulatory functions of exercise-induced PTMs in metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal health.
• Role of PTMs in inter-organ communication mediated by exercise (muscle-brain axis, muscle-fat axis).
• PTMs modulation as therapeutic intervention strategies for cancer, aging-associated diseases, and metabolic syndromes.
• Clinical translational approaches: Identifying PTMs-based biomarkers for precision exercise prescription and personalized medicine.
Keywords: Post-translational Modifications (PTMs), Exercise-induced Adaptation, Protein Phosphorylation, Epigenetic Regulation, AMPK/mTOR Signaling
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
