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Epidemiologic studies show that regular exercise is associated with improved cognition. Recently, a molecule generated by exercise, irisin, was shown to protect the brain, in part by limiting neuroinflammation (NEJM JW Gen Med Oct 15 2021 and Nat Metab 2021; 3:1058). In a new study, researchers identified another molecule that also prevents neuroinflammation and protects cognition.
Plasma harvested from regularly exercising mice was infused into young mice that were not able to exercise regularly. This infusion activated specific genes that inhibited neuroinflammation, especially genes that inhibited the complement cascade — and particularly the gene for a molecule called clusterin. Clusterin bonded to endothelial cells in the brain and prev…