What is myokines?
Myokines are cytokines and other signaling molecules secreted by skeletal muscle in response to contraction. They act as hormones, influencing metabolism, brain function, inflammation, and tissue repair across the body.
Key Myokines
- •BDNF — Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; supports neuroplasticity and cognitive function
- •Irisin — promotes fat oxidation and browning of white adipose tissue
- •IL-6 — acute exercise raises IL-6, which can have anti-inflammatory effects in context
Why do Myokines matter?
Myokines matter because they are one of the main ways working muscle communicates with the rest of the body. When muscles contract, they release signaling proteins that travel in the blood and act on fat tissue, the liver, bone, the immune system, and the brain.
This helps explain why regular physical activity has effects far beyond the muscles themselves, including on metabolism and inflammation. Researchers still debate how large each individual myokine's contribution is, and much of the detailed evidence comes from animal and short-term human studies.
What affects Myokines?
The biggest factor affecting myokine release is muscle contraction itself, so the type, intensity, and duration of exercise all play a role. Longer or more demanding sessions generally produce larger short-term rises in some myokines, such as interleukin-6, which then fall back toward baseline after recovery.
Muscle mass also matters: people with more active muscle tissue have more of the source that produces these signals. Aging, long periods of inactivity, and illness that causes muscle loss tend to reduce this signaling capacity. Nutrition, sleep, and training history can shape the response too, but the exact size of these effects varies between studies and between people.
In ONDA Life
The Muscle Metabolic Marker article covers how myokines connect muscle health to brain and metabolic optimization.