Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jun 7:18:1420322.
doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1420322. eCollection 2024.

Physical exercise regulates microglia in health and disease

Alexandra O Strohm  1 , Ania K Majewska  2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Physical exercise regulates microglia in health and disease

Alexandra O Strohm et al. Front Neurosci. .

Abstract

There is a well-established link between physical activity and brain health. As such, the effectiveness of physical exercise as a therapeutic strategy has been explored in a variety of neurological contexts. To determine the extent to which physical exercise could be most beneficial under different circumstances, studies are needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms behind the benefits of physical activity. Interest has grown in understanding how physical activity can regulate microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. Microglia are key mediators of neuroinflammatory processes and play a role in maintaining brain homeostasis in healthy and pathological settings. Here, we explore the evidence suggesting that physical activity has the potential to regulate microglia activity in various animal models. We emphasize key areas where future research could contribute to uncovering the therapeutic benefits of engaging in physical exercise.

Keywords: aging; environmental exposure; microglia; neurodegeneration; neurodevelopment; physical exercise.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Physical exercise regulates microglia activity in rodent models. Figure made with Biorender.com.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Summary of physical exercise and microglia activity. (A) Percent of studies published each year within the scope of this review. Total number of studies included in review = 142. (B) Percent of studies utilizing male, female, or both sexes (top) and species used (bottom). (C) Percent of studies which examine microglia in the brain regions shown. (D) Percent of studies which measured microglia parameters shown. (E) Percent of studies utilizing different types of exercise paradigms. (F) Number of studies implementing exercise paradigms of various durations. (G) Percent of studies published on each topic shown. Numbers of studies are included next to the bars for percentage plots. For (C–E), percentages exceed 100% as some studies measured more than one microglial parameter, examined more than one brain region, or implemented more than one form of exercise.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Physical exercise and microglia in the healthy brain. (A) Percent of studies published each year examining effects of physical exercise on microglia in a healthy setting. Total number of studies = 8. (B) Percent of studies utilizing male, female, or both sexes (top), various species (middle), and strain (bottom). (C) Percent of studies which examine microglia in the brain regions shown. (D) Percent of studies which measured microglia parameters shown. (E) Percent of studies utilizing running wheel or treadmill exercise. (F) Number of studies implementing exercise paradigms of various durations. Numbers of studies are included next to the bars for percentage plots. For (C,D), percentages exceed 100% as some studies measured more than one microglial parameter or examined more than one brain region.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Physical exercise and microglia in neurodevelopmental models. (A) Percent studies published by year examining effects of physical exercise on microglia in neurodevelopmental models. Total number of studies = 7. (B) Percent of studies using various neurodevelopmental models. (C) Percent of studies utilizing male, female, or both sexes (top), various species (middle), and strains (bottom). (D) Percent of studies which examine microglia in the brain regions shown. (E) Percent of studies which measured microglia parameters shown. (F) Percent of studies utilizing different types of exercise paradigms. (G) Number of studies implementing exercise paradigms of various durations. Numbers of studies are included next to the bars for percentage plots. For (C–E), percentages exceed 100% as some studies used multiple strains, measured more than one microglial parameter, or examined more than one brain region.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Physical exercise regulates microglia during aging. (A) Percent studies published by year examining effects of physical exercise on microglia during aging. Total number of studies = 15. (B) Percent of studies utilizing male, female, or both sexes (top), various species (middle), and strains (bottom). (C) Percent of studies which examine microglia in the brain regions shown. (D) Percent of studies which measured microglia parameters shown. (E) Percent of studies utilizing different types of exercise paradigms. (F) Number of studies implementing exercise paradigms of various durations. Numbers of studies are included next to the bars for percentage plots. For (B–D), percentages exceed 100% as some studies used multiple strains, measured more than one microglial parameter, or examined more than one brain region.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Physical exercise and microglia in neurodegenerative diseases. (A) Percent studies published by year examining effects of physical exercise on microglia in neurodegenerative models. Total number of studies = 40. (B) Percent of studies using models of various neurodegenerative diseases. (C) Percent of studies utilizing male, female, or both sexes (top), various species (middle), and strains (bottom). (D) Percent of studies which examine microglia in the brain regions shown. (E) Percent of studies which measured microglia parameters shown. (F) Percent of studies utilizing different types of exercise paradigms. (G) Number of studies implementing exercise paradigms of various durations. Numbers of studies are included next to the bars for percentage plots. For (C–E) percentages exceed 100% as some studies used multiple strains, measured more than one microglial parameter, or examined more than one brain region.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Physical exercise regulates microglia in stroke models. (A) Percent studies published by year examining effects of physical exercise on microglia in stroke models. Total number of studies = 16. (B) Percent of studies using different stroke models. (C) Percent of studies utilizing male, female, or both sexes (top), various species (middle), and strain (bottom). (D) Percent of studies which examine microglia in the brain regions shown. (E) Percent of studies which measured microglia parameters shown. (F) Percent of studies utilizing treadmill or swimming exercise (top) and the timing of stroke relative to exercise intervention (before, after, before or after, during, not specified; bottom). Studies where exercise intervention occurs “during” stroke utilized spontaneous hypertensive rats, which exhibit genetically induced increased blood pressure and as such the “stroke” occurred “during” the exercise intervention (F). (G) Number of studies implementing exercise paradigms of various durations. Numbers of studies are included next to the bars for percentage plots. For (D,E) percentages exceed 100% as some studies used measured more than one microglial parameter or examined more than one brain region.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Physical exercise interacts with lifestyle factors to modulate microglial activity. (A) Percent studies published by year examining effects of physical exercise and lifestyle factors on microglia activity. Total number of studies = 15. (B) Percent of studies using different lifestyle models. (C) Percent of studies utilizing male, female, or both sexes (top), various species (middle), and strains (bottom). (D) Percent of studies which examine microglia in the brain regions shown. (E) Percent of studies which measured microglia parameters shown. (F) Percent of studies utilizing treadmill or running wheel exercise (top) and the timing of insult (stress, alcohol, environmental, dietary exposure) relative to exercise intervention (before, after, during; bottom). (G) Number of studies implementing exercise paradigms of various durations. Numbers of studies are included next to the bars for percentage plots. For (D,E) percentages exceed 100% as some studies used measured more than one microglial parameter or examined more than one brain region.
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors that are increased during exercise are known regulators of microglial activity. Figure made with Biorender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Adachi M., Abe M., Sasaki T., Kato H., Kasahara J., Araki T. (2010). Role of inducible or neuronal nitric oxide synthase in neurogenesis of the dentate gyrus in aged mice. Metab. Brain Dis. 25 419–424. 10.1007/s11011-010-9224-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adlard P., Perreau V., Engesser-Cesar C., Cotman C. (2004). The timecourse of induction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA and protein in the rat hippocampus following voluntary exercise. Neurosci. Lett. 363 43–48. 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.03.058 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aguilar-Peralta A., Gonzalez-Vazquez A., Tomas-Sanchez C., Blanco-Alvarez V., Martinez-Fong D., Gonzalez-Barrios J., et al. (2022). Prophylactic zinc administration combined with swimming exercise prevents cognitive-emotional disturbances and tissue injury following a transient hypoxic-ischemic insult in the rat. Behav. Neurol. 2022:5388944. 10.1155/2022/5388944 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aires V., Coulon-Bainier C., Pavlovic A., Ebeling M., Schmucki R., Schweitzer C., et al. (2021). CD22 blockage restores age-related impairments of microglia surveillance capacity. Front. Immunol. 12:684430. 10.3389/fimmu.2021.684430 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Albertini G., Etienne F., Roumier A. (2020). Regulation of microglia by neuromodulators: modulations in major and minor modes. Neurosci. Lett. 733:135000. 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135000 - DOI - PubMed