Acute and chronic effects of exercise on irisin in healthy adults

Background: Irisin is a myokine that secrets from muscle during and after the exercise and induces non-shivering thermogenesis after stimulation of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) gene expression and elevation of number and size of mitochondria. Therefore, irisin activity is effective in reduction of fat percent that lead to treatment of obesity. The aim of this review study was to investigate the effect of various sports activities on irisin levels in healthy adults. Materials and methods: In this systematic review, PubMed and Google Scholar databases were used for articles searching. Keywords include training, exercise, physical activity, irisin and brown adipose tissue. Among 154 articles published between 2010 and 2020, 53 articles were selected. Used parts of selected articles were those related to abstract, biology of irisin, mechanisms of effects of irisin on chronic diseases and mechanisms of effects of exercise on irisin. Results: Elevation of irisin levels was reported in the most articles (90%) about acute effects of different types of physical activity on Irisin, also irisin levels were consistent after long term exercise in the most related articles (66%). Conclusion: Results showed that higher exercise intensities were more effective for irisin secretion than lower exercise intensities. Overall, one session exercise increases irisin, while irisin levels remains constant after regular exercise. Also, higher exercise intensity and more muscle bulk usage is more effective for production and secretion of irisin from skeletal muscle that is effective in prevention of diseases such as atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer, cancer and diabetes.