Travis Nemkov

To molecularly characterize the impact of exercise on mitigating neoadjuvant treatment (NAT)-induced physical decline in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, a multi-omics approach was employed for the analysis of plasma samples before and after a personalized exercise intervention. Consisting of personalized aerobic and resistance exercises, this intervention was associated with significant molecular changes that correlated with improvements in lean mass, appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI), and performance in the 400-m walk test (MWT) and sit-to-stand test. These alterations indicated exercise-induced modulation of inflammation and mitochondrial function markers. This case study provides proof-of-principal application for multiomics-based assessments of supervised exercise, thereby supporting this intervention as a feasible and beneficial intervention for PDAC patients to potentially enhance treatment response and patient quality of life. The molecular changes observed here underscore the importance of physical activity in cancer treatment protocols, advocating for the development of accessible multiomics-guided exercise programs for cancer patients.

Metabolomics and lipidomics techniques are capable of comprehensively measuring hundreds to thousands of small molecules in single analytical runs and have been used to characterize responses to exercise traditionally using venipuncture‐produced liquid samples. Advanced microsampling devices offer an alternative by circumventing the requirement to maintain frozen samples. This approach combines a microneedle puncture for blood draw with microfluidic sample collection onto a dried carrier and has thus far been employed for targeted measurements of a few analytes. To demonstrate the utility of advanced dried microsampling to characterize metabolomic and lipidomic changes during exercise, we obtained samples before and after a 2‐mile run from twelve (8 male, 4 female) healthy volunteers with various ranges in activity levels. Results highlighted significant changes in whole blood levels of several metabolites associated with energy (glycolysis and Tricarboxylic Acid cycle) and redox (Pentose Phosphate Pathway) metabolism. Lipid changes during this same period were individualized and less uniform. Sex‐based differences in response to running highlighted reliance on carbohydrate or fat substrate utilization in males or females, respectively. The results presented herein illustrate the ability of this approach to monitor circulating metabolome and lipidome profiles from field sampled blood in response to exercise.