Bluesky

Facebook

B cells, an important component of the immune system, might improve endurance and muscle strength.Credit: Hinterhaus Productions/Getty

Immune cells that help to fight off foreign invaders in the body also provide crucial support for muscles during exercise, suggests a mouse study published in Cell today1.

B cells are the ‘security guards’ of the immune system, identifying harmful pathogens and actively producing antibodies to target them, says Peng Jiang, an immunologist at Tsinghua University in Beijing and anthor of the study. But until now, the cells’ role in metabolism had not been observed. Jiang says this is the first time that a function for these cells that is not associated with the immune system has been described— “a finding completely beyond our initial expectations”, he says.

Carolin Daniel, the director of the Helmholtz Munich Institute for Metabolism and Immunology in Germany, says that there is increasing interest in studying the functions of B and T cells beyond the immune system. The finding that B cells can be crucial intermediaries between the immune system and the organs involved in exercise is an important conceptual advance, she adds.

Run, run, run

Jiang’s team studied whether there was a connection between the immune system and exercise performance. They tested the endurance of mice that had been genetically modified to have a low B-cell count by having them run on a treadmill. The researchers increased the speed at predetermined intervals over a period of about 15 minutes, stopping when the mouse became exhausted.

They repeated the experiment with another group of mice that they treated with an antibody therapy, which is used in humans to target cancer-causing B cells. The antibodies destroy any B cells that they come across.

Enjoying our latest content?

- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team

- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research

Access through your institution

Continue with Google

Continue with ORCiD

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01245-w

References

- Mao, Y., Xia, Z., Pan, X., Xia, W. & Jiang, P. Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.03.039 (2026).

Article

Google Scholar

Download references

Reprints and permissions

The surprisingly big health benefits of just a little exercise

How much exercise do you really need?

Can Diet and Exercise Really Prevent Alzheimer’s?

Can a pill replace exercise? Swigging this molecule gives mice benefits of working out

Why is exercise good for you? Scientists are finding answers in our cells

Subjects

Immunology

Cell biology

Physiology

Latest on:

Immunology

Cell biology

Physiology

mRNA vaccines engage unconventional pathways in CD8+ T cell priming

Article 15 APR 26

Linear RAG scanning mediates editing of Igκ variable region repertoires

Article 15 APR 26

Polyclonal selection of immune checkpoint mutations in thyroid autoimmunity

Article 14 APR 26

Cytoplasmic lattices are megadalton storage complexes in mammalian oocytes

Article 15 APR 26

Therapeutic mitochondria transplants made more efficient with targeting tool

News & Views 15 APR 26

Template-driven scaffolding of SCFFBXO42 regulates PP2A degradation

Article 15 APR 26

Why obesity drugs work better for some people: these genes hold clues

News 08 APR 26

Single-cell spatiotemporal dissection of the human maternal–fetal interface

Article 08 APR 26

Why some cancer-fighting immune cells lose their strength inside tumours

News 02 APR 26

Jobs

Max Planck Dioscuri Postdoc: Structural Biology at XFELs

Capture proteins in action! 4.5y TR-SFX postdoc on chloride pumps. Fully funded, €1M grant, no teaching. 2.3Å diffracting crystals ready.

Kraków (PL)

Jagiellonian University

Multiple PhD Positions

Departments Bioanalytic and Biospectroscopy

Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE)

Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V.

Deputy Editor, Nature Communications

Job Title: Deputy Editor, Nature Communications Location: Shanghai, Beijing or Pune - Hybrid working Application Deadline: May 8th, 2026 About Sp...

Shanghai, Beijing or Pune - Hybrid working

Springer Nature Ltd

Global Talent Recruitment Announcement of the College of Engineering, HZAU

Join HZAU's global faculty team to advance research with competitive benefits.

Wuhan, Hubei (CN)

Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU)

Independent Junior Research Group Leaders (m/f/d)

The Cluster of Excellence EXC 2124 “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections” (CMFI) at the University of Tübingen invites applications for Indepen...

Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg (DE)

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Immune cells have a surprising role in exercise endurance