Exercise as a prescription for depression: here’s how it works | SBS News: "Within the muscles, endurance-type exercise prompts the activation of a protein called PGC-1a1. This protein does a lot already: It promotes the growth of blood vessels, increases the efficiency with which the cells use energy, ensures that fatty acids are broken down for the body’s use, and guards against muscle atrophy.
But the authors of the latest study show that activating PGC-1a1 in the muscles also increases the production of kynurenine aminotransferases inside of muscle. And the presence of these enzymes catalyzes a chemical change in kynurenine, converting it into kynurenic acid.
In mice, and very likely in humans too, chronic stress increase levels of kynurenine in the brain—and high levels of kynurenine appear to induce depression. But kynurenic acid can’t get into the brain, because it can’t get across the blood-brain barrier. So, when PGC-1a1 levels in muscle are high, and kynurenine gets converted into kynurenic acid, levels of kynurenine in the brain naturally drop."
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