Acute Postexercise Change in Circulating Irisin Is Related to More Favorable Lipid Profile in Pregnant Women Attending a Structured Exercise Program and to Less Favorable Lipid Profile in Controls: An Experimental Study with Two Groups

Abstract

Introduction. The blood irisin concentrations may be affected both by exercise and pregnancy. We aimed to determine acute responses in serum irisin after a single exercise session and relationships between exercise-induced changes in this hormone and lipid profile in pregnancy. Material and Methods. It was an experimental study in 20 Caucasian women in normal pregnancy (age 30±3 years, 28±6 weeks of gestation; mean±SD). Participants were assigned to training (n=8) and control groups (n=12). Before the experiment, women from the training group attended a structured exercise program 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Blood samples were collected before and 30 minutes after a single bout of 60-minute moderate- to high-intensity exercise to determine serum levels of irisin, insulin, glucose concentration, and lipid profile. Results. At baseline, we recorded slightly lower irisin levels in the training group compared to controls (12.2±2.4 and 13.9±3.3 ng·ml-1, respectively). Only in the training group all women presented increase in irisin levels after exercise (on average by 14%); and this change was statistically significant (p=0.002). In the controls, we found positive significant relationships between postexercise irisin change and low-density lipoproteins (R=0.594; p=0.04) and total cholesterol (R=0.734; p=0.006). Surprisingly, in the training group, these relationships were also significant but inverse (R=−0.738 and p=0.036; R=−0.833 and p=0.01, respectively). Conclusions. Training and control pregnant women responded differently to a single exercise session, both in the postexercise change in irisin and its relationship to the blood lipids. Only in the training group we observed the postexercise increase in irisin, which was related to more favorable lipid profile. Systematic prenatal physical activity may optimize the postexercise irisin response and lipid metabolism regulated by this hormone. Therefore, exercise programs should be promoted in pregnant women and obstetric care providers.

Circulating Irisin in Healthy Adults: Changes after Acute Exercise, Correlation with Body Composition, and Energy Expenditure Parameters in Cross-Sectional Study

“…Due to evidence that the irisin concentration may vary significantly depending on the utilized type of commercial kit, comparison of the results is possible only with studies that use the same type of kit. The average pre-exercise irisin level was consistent with the baseline level found in healthy individuals in the KarMeN-study [32], in a study of adipose women of a similar age reported by Winn et al [33], a middle aged Chinese population [34], and even similar to the values measured in pregnant women between the second and third trimester of normal gestation [35]. However, the values that we report in the current study were almost 40 times lower than the baseline plasma irisin level determined in a small study sample of similar characteristics in Norway [20], and slightly lower than the baseline level detected in a group of adolescents [36].…”

The influence of concurrent training intensity on serum irisin and abdominal fat in postmenopausal women

“…Subsequently, the body's energy expenditure and thermogenesis also rise in response to the secretion of irisin. This event has an enriching effect on metabolic traits (such as decreased insulin sensitivity, high fasting blood sugar, hyperlipidemia, reduced HDL, impaired adipose tissue function) linked to overweight and obesity [6,7].…”

Relationships Between Circulating Irisin Response to Ice Swimming and Body Composition in People With Regular Exercise Experience

“…Third, we only investigated serum irisin once in 30 min after IS, so the results do not represent the overall irisin response during the recovery period after IS. However, the reason for this design was to reduce the effect of the irisin circadian rhythm on the results ( Anastasilakis et al, 2014 ), and it has reported that 30 min is the sufficient time for stimulation irisin secretion by exercise or cryostimulation intervention ( Huh et al, 2012 ; Dulian et al, 2015 ; Szumilewicz et al, 2019 ). Lastly, no data on metabolic disorders, the time interval between lunch and IS, diet on the test day, cardiorespiratory fitness measurements, or detection of in vivo metabolic parameters were included in our study, so we could not adjust for metabolic pathologies or feeding effects that may associated with energy balance and the evaluation of macronutrients status to distinguish the exact metabolic states of the Δirisin− and Δirisin + groups.…”