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Abstract
Chronic physical inactivity is a major risk factor for a number of important lifestyle diseases, while inappropriate exposure to high physical demands is a risk factor for musculoskeletal injury and fatigue. Proteomic and metabolomic investigations of the physical activity continuum – extreme sedentariness to extremes in physical performance – offer increasing insight into the biological impacts of physical activity. Moreover, biomarkers, revealed in such studies, may have utility in the monitoring of metabolic and musculoskeletal health or recovery following injury. As a diagnostic matrix, urine is non-invasive to collect and it contains many biomolecules, which reflect both positive and negative adaptations to physical activity exposure. This review examines the utility and landscape of biomarkers of physical activity with particular reference to those found in urine.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
A PCT has been filed with the Australian patent office (PCT/AU2012/000797) relating to the use of the LG3 peptide as a biomarker for physical activity. This protein is mentioned in this context in the manuscript. TJ Parker, AW Parker & Z Upton are named inventors on the patent application. DL Sampson, JA Broadbent, Z Upton & TJ Parker acknowledge the research support they receive from the Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre (WMICRC). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Key issues
Poor physical health threatens economic security of developed nations and this can be largely attributed to inappropriate levels of physical activity.
Biomarkers of physical activity offer a means of monitoring maintenance of or progression toward health.
Urine is an ideal matrix for proteomic and metabolomics studies of physical activity.
Urinary biomarker diagnostics hold potential for broad end-user-uptake due to the non-invasive nature of sample collection.
Sport science has the most experience in identifying biomarkers of physical activity. Various metabolites and proteins have been identified as biomarkers of physical activity or of injury to musculoskeletal structures as a result of over-use or over-training.
Systems biology approaches will yield panels of markers with increased diagnostic resolution.
Larger sample sizes are required to provide improved statistical rigor in physical activity studies.
There remain limitations in technology, analytics and computing power.