ArticleCell reports. Medicine2023
Elevated cfDNA after exercise is derived primarily from mature polymorphonuclear neutrophils, with a minor contribution of cardiomyocytes.
Article in Cell reports. Medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 45 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Kinetics of cell-free DNA in response to exogenous and exertional heating in healthy young men.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Trial
- Exercise intensity and training alter the innate immune cell type and chromosomal origins of circulating cell-free DNA in humans.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Trial
- Towards liquid biopsy-based analysis of antitumour immunity.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Cell-free DNA, cytokine, and catecholamine levels did not differ between sexes under a matched body core temperature increase, despite females exhibiting a more rapid increase in rectal temperature.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Female endurance athletes show a reduced plasma cell-free DNA response to all-out and 3-h cycling compared to male counterparts.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Exercise mimetics: molecular mechanisms, biological and therapeutic effects.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Circulating Tumor DNA as Emerging Predictive and Prognostic Biomarker in Prostate Cancer.Cancers · 2026Review
- Article
- Longitudinal cell-free DNA methylome and fragmentome profiles in health uncover signatures of cell type and demographic origin.Genome medicine · 2026Article
- Intramuscular neutrophil-derived immunometabolic niches locally boost insulin-responsive GLUT4 translocation after muscle contraction.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Liquid biopsy epigenetics: establishing a molecular profile based on cell-free DNA.Molecular oncology · 2026Review
- cfGWAS reveal genetic basis of cell-free DNA end motifs.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Recent advances in biomarkers for cardiac fibrosis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Threshold effects of physical activity and cognitive function among older adults with diabetes mellitus in NHANES 2011-2014.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
- Circulating-free DNA: A promising tool for early detection of myocardial infarction.International journal of cardiology. Cardiovascular risk and prevention · 2025Review
- Acute and Chronic Effects of a High-Intensity Interval Training Shock Microcycle on Cell-Free DNA: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Sports medicine - open · 2025Article
- Intensive physical training induces NET release in athletes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Epigenetic profiles of tissue informative CpGs inform ALS disease status and progression.Genome medicine · 2025Article
- Epigenetic liquid biopsies reveal endothelial turnover and erythropoiesis in asymptomatic COVID-19.Life science alliance · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
25 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Strenuous physical exercise causes a massive elevation in the concentration of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which correlates with effort intensity and duration. The cellular sources and physiological drivers of this phenomenon are unknown. Using methylation patterns of cfDNA and associated histones, we show that cfDNA in exercise originates mostly in extramedullary polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Strikingly, cardiomyocyte cfDNA concentration increases after a marathon, consistent with elevated troponin levels and indicating low-level, delayed cardiac cell death. Physical impact, low oxygen levels, and elevated core body temperature contribute to neutrophil cfDNA release, while muscle contraction, increased heart rate, β-adrenergic signaling, or steroid treatment fail to cause elevation of cfDNA. Physical training reduces neutrophil cfDNA release after a standard exercise, revealing an inverse relationship between exercise-induced cfDNA release and training level. We speculate that the release of cfDNA from neutrophils in exercise relates to the activation of neutrophils in the context of exercise-induced muscle damage.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.