Exercise Reverses Mental Stress–Induced Vascular Inflammation and Builds Stress Resilience

Meyer-Lindemann, Ulrike ; Borbil, Karina; Schwab, Marius; Moggio, Aldo; Shen, Rui; Sharifi, M. Amin ; Dang, Tan An; Schories, Viktoria; Rottenkolber, Raphael; Rapelius, Svenja; Hinterdobler, Julia ; Mauersberger, Carina; Scheidt, Moritz von ; Maegdefessel, Lars ; Wackerhage, Henning ; Köhler, Karsten; Berga-Švītiņa, Egija; Vilne, Baiba; Hristov, Michael; Weber, Christian ; Steffens, Sabine ; McAlpine, Cameron S.; Schunkert, Heribert ; Kessler, Thorsten und Sager, Hendrik B. (2026): Exercise Reverses Mental Stress–Induced Vascular Inflammation and Builds Stress Resilience. In: JACC : Basic to Translational Science, Vol. 11, No. 5, 101536

Abstract

Mental stress is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, yet no targeted therapies exist to reduce stress-related vascular risk. We investigated whether physical activity mitigates the adverse cardiovascular effects ofacute mental stress and explored the underlying mechanisms. Sedentary and physically active mice, following6 weeks of voluntary treadmill running, were exposed to acute mental stress, and inflammatory responseswithin atherosclerotic plaques were assessed. Physically active mice exhibited markedly reduced stress-induced leukocyte infiltration into plaques compared with sedentary mice. This protective effect was asso-ciated with blunted stress-induced norepinephrine release and reduced endothelial activation, reflected bylower expression of adhesion molecules and chemokines. To assess translational relevance, physically activeand inactive human participants were exposed to acute stress, revealing that physical activity similarlyattenuated stress-induced leukocyte redistribution. These findings demonstrate that physical activitycounteracts stress-induced vascular inflammation and highlight its potential as a preventive andtherapeutic strategy to reduce stress-related cardiovascular risk.

• Item Type: Journal article
• EU Funded Grant Agreement Number: 759272; 101077205
• EU Projects: Horizon 2020 > ERC Grants > ERC Starting Grant
• Faculties: Medicine > Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy); Medicine > Medical Center of the University of Munich > Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK)
• Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health
• ISSN: 2452-302X
• Language: English
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 390857198
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 515567441
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 470462396
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 238187445