Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2026, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (23): 5954-5963.doi: 10.12307/2026.304

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Exercise interventions regulate thyroid hormones: effects on the liver, skeleton, muscle, heart, and brain

Cheng Yang1, 2, Huang Qingqiang1, Bu Shumin1, Yi Yue2   

  1. 1School of Kinesiology and Health, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing 100191, China; 2School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
  • Received:2025-04-24 Accepted:2025-05-16 Online:2026-08-18 Published:2025-12-30
  • Contact: Bu Shumin, PhD, Professor, School of Kinesiology and Health, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing 100191, China Co-corresponding author: Yi Yue, PhD, Associate researcher, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
  • About author:Cheng Yang, MS candidate, School of Kinesiology and Health, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing 100191, China; School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
  • Supported by:
     a grant from the Emerging Interdisciplinary Platform for Medicine and Engineering in Sports (EIPMES), No. 11000024210200089230-XM001 (to BSM [project participant]); Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program for Young Scholars, No. 3160012222114 (to YY); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, No. 2024CX06051 (to YY)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Thyroid hormones play a critical role in regulating growth, development, energy metabolism, and maintaining homeostasis in mammals. Exercise interventions can modulate thyroid hormones levels through various mechanisms. However, the regulatory effects of exercise on multiple organs via thyroid hormones have not yet been fully elucidated. 
OBJECTIVE: To summarize thyroid hormones synthesis, metabolism, and its regulation through exercise, and explore its dynamic regulatory functions in the liver, bone, muscle, heart, and brain.
METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang database, VIP, Web of Science, and PubMed for relevant articles published from database inception until February 2025. The search terms were “thyroid hormones, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, thyroid, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, exercise, training, physical activity, liver, hepatic, muscle, bone, osteoporosis, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, heart, myocardium, cardiomyopathy, cardiac, myocardial infarction, brain, cognition, nervous” in Chinese and English. A total of 81 studies were included in this review.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Exercise can regulate thyroid hormones levels, reshape tissue-specific expression of deiodinases, or alter the sensitivity of thyroid hormone receptors in target organs, leading to dynamic multi-organ regulation. Exercise interventions have the potential to reverse pathological phenotypes of multiple organs associated with thyroid dysfunction, such as metabolic-related fatty liver disease, bone homeostasis imbalance, cognitive impairment, muscle and heart dysfunction. Although existing evidence reveals the regulatory effects of exercise on thyroid hormones, the molecular mechanisms and the regulatory roles of thyroid hormones in multiple organs still require further in-depth exploration. In addition, most of the current research is based on rodent models, primarily focusing on aerobic exercise, and more clinical evidence is needed to confirm its applicability to human metabolic diseases.

Key words: thyroid, thyroid hormones, exercise regulation, deiodinase, liver, bone, muscle, heart, brain, metabolic diseases

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