Exercise Physiology –

Hormonal response to
Exercise
 After the lecture you will be able to
understand:
 Brief Introduction about:

Neuroendocrinology
Hormones: Regulation and action
Hormonal control of substrate mobilization
during exercise
 Neuroendocrinology
 “A branch of physiology dedicated to the systematic study of control
systems”
 Two major homeostatic systems involved in the control and regulation of
various functions are nervous and endocrine systems
 Nerves use neurotransmitters to relay message from one nerve to the
other- nerve impulse
 Endocrine glands release hormones into blood
 Blood Hormone Concentration

 The hormone concentration in the blood is dependent upon:

 The rate of secretion of the hormone from the endocrine gland
 The rate of metabolism or excretion of the hormone
 The quantity of transport protein
 Changes in the plasma volume
 Hormone-Receptor Interaction 5

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 Hormones are carried by the circulation to tissues, but they affect only certain
tissues.
 Tissues responsive to specific hormones have specific protein receptors
capable of binding those hormones.
 These protein receptors should not be viewed as static fixtures associated with
cells, but like any cellular structures, they are subject to change.
 The number of receptors varies from 500 to 100,000 per cell,
 Mechanisms of Hormone Action 6

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 Mechanisms by which hormones modify cellular activity include:
 • alteration of membrane transport mechanisms,
 • altering activity of DNA in the nucleus to initiate or suppress the synthesis of
a specific protein, and
 • activation of special proteins in the cells by "second messengers."
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 1. Membrane Transport After binding to a receptor on a membrane,

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the major effect of some hormones is to activate carrier molecules in or
near the membrane to increase the movement of substrates or ions from
outside to inside the cell.
 For example, insulin binds to receptors on the surface of the cell and
mobilizes glucose transporters located in the membrane of the cell.
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 II. Altering Activity of DNA in the Nucleus
 Due to their lipid-like nature, steroid hormones diffuse easily through cell
membranes, where they become bound to a protein receptor in the cytoplasm of
the cell
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 Second Messengers 10
 Many hormones, because of their size or highly charged structure, cannot easily
cross cell membrane.
 The G protein is the link. These hormones exert their effects by binding to a
receptor on the membrane surface and activating a G protein between the
hormone-receptor interaction on the surface of the membrane and the subsequent
events inside the cell.
 The G protein may open an ion channel to allow Ca++ to enter the cell, or it may
activate an enzyme in the membrane. If the G protein activates adenylate cyclase,
then cyclic AMP (cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate) is formed from ATP .
 In turn, the cyclic AMP concentration increases in the cell and activates proteins,
which directly alter cellular activation .
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Hormones:Regulation and Action
 Hypothalamus and the Pituitary gland
 The hypothalamus controls the activity of both the
anterior and posterior pituitary glands
 Anterior Pituitary Gland and hormones:
 ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone)
 FSH (follicle stimulating hormone)
 LH (leutinizing hormone)

 MSH (Melano-cyte stimulating hormone)

 TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone)

 GH (Growth hormone)

 Prolactin
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 Hormones:Regulation and
Action
 Posterior Pituitary Gland and hormones:
Releases two hormones:
 Antidiuretic hormone (reduces water loss from the body)
 Increases with exercise
 Oxcytocin (powerful stimulator of smooth muscles and helped in release
of milk from the breast)
Hormones:Regulation and
Action
 Thyroid gland:
 Thyroid hormones T3 and T4 are important in maintaining the
metabolic rate and allowing other hormones to bring about their full
effect
 Increase free T3 and T4
 Calcitonin: decreases plasma calcium
 Parathyroid Gland:
 PTH: Increases plasma calcium
 Increases with exercise
 Hormones: Regulation and Action-
Adrenal gland

 Adrenal Cortex:
 Cortisol: Increases gluconeogenesis, FFA Mobilization
and protein synthesis
 Increaseswith heavy exercise
 Decreases with light exercise
 Aldosterone: Increases potassium secretion and sodium
reabsorption at kidney
 Increases with exercise
 Adrenal Medulla:
 Epinephrine(80%): Increases glycogenolysis
 Increases with exercise
 Norepinephrine(20%): Increases FFA
mobilization ,HR,SV and PR
 Increases with exercise
Control of cortisol secretion, showing the balance of positive and negative
input to the hypothalamus, and cortisol's influence on metabolism
 Hormones:Regulation and Action
 Pancreas:
 Insulin: Increases glucose,FFA,AA uptake into the tissues
 Decreases with exercise
 Glucagon: Increases glucose and FFA
mobilization;gluconeogenesis
 Increases with exercise
 Testes & Ovaries:
 Testosterone: Protein synthesis, secondary sex characteristics,
sex drive, sperm production
 Small Increase with exercise
 Estrogen :
Fat deposition;secondary sex characteristics,ovum
development
 Small Increase with exercise
Control of testosterone secretion and sperm production by hypothalamus
and anterior pituitary.
Role of estrogen in the development of
female secondary sex characteristics and maturation of the ovum
 Blood glucose homeostasis
during exercise
 Plasma glucose concentration is maintained through four different
processes:
 Mobilize glucose from liver glycogen stores
 Mobilize plasma FFA from adipose tissue to spare plasma glucose
 Gluconeogenesis from AA,lacti acid and glycerol
 Block glucose entry into cells to force the substitution of FFA as a fuel
 Permissive and slow acting
hormones
 The hormones thyroxin, cortisol and growth hormone act in a
permissive manner to support the actions of other hormones during
exercise
 GH and cortisol also provide a “slow acting” effect on carbohydrate and
fat metabolism during exercise
 Fast acting Hormones
 Epinephrine and norepinephrine:
 Due to their action plasma glucose come to normal quickly
 Glucose is taken up seven to twenty times faster during
exercise than at rest-even with the decrease in plasma
insulin
 Increases in IC calcium and other factors are associated with
an increase the membrane transport of glucose
 Training causes a reduction in E,NE,glucagon and insulin
responses to exercise
Changes in plasma E and NE responses to a fixed
workload over 7 weeks of endurance training
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 Pancreas responds by producing insulin, which allows glucose to enter
the body's cells to provide energy.
 Insulin allows the cells in the muscles, fat and liver to absorb glucose
that is in the blood

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 Hormone-Substrate
Interaction
 The plasma FFA decreases during heavy exercise even
though the adipose cell is stimulated by a variety of
hormones to increase triglyceride breakdown to FFA
and glycerol
 This may be due to:
 High levels of lactate during exercise that re-synthsis of
triglycerides
 An inadequate blood flow to adipose tissue
 Insufficient albumin needed to transport the FFA in the
plasma.
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 The type of substrate and the rate at which it is utilized during
exercise depend to a large extent on the intensity and duration of

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the exercise.
 During strenuous exercise there is an obligatory demand for
carbohydrate oxidation that must be met; fatty acid oxidation
cannot substitute In contrast, there is an increase in fat oxidation
during prolonged, moderate exercise as carbohydrate fuels are
deplete
 Muscle-Glycogen Utilization 33

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 At the onset of most types of exercise, and for the entire duration of very
strenuous exercise, muscle glycogen is the primary carbohydrate fuel for
muscular work
Changes in plasma FFA due to increase in lactic acid
Effect of lactic acid on the mobilization of FFA from
adipose cells
 Cortisol 36

 The primary glucocorticoid in humans is cortisol As figure 5.17 shows,

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cortisol stimulates FFA mobilization from adipose tissue, mobilizes
tissue protein to yield amino acids for glucose synthesis in the liver
(gluconeogenesis), and decreases the rate of glucose utilization by cells
(55).
 There are problems, however, when attempting to describe the cortisol
response to exercise.
 Given the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) of Selye, events other
than exercise can influence the cortisol response. Imagine how a naive
subject might view a treadmill test on first exposure.
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