Declining Physical Performance Associates with Serum FasL, miR-21, and miR-146a in Aging Sprinters

Abstract

Aging is associated with systemic inflammation and cellular apoptosis accelerating physiological dysfunctions. Whether physically active way of life affects these associations is unclear. This study measured the levels of serum inflammatory and apoptotic molecules, their change over 10 years, and their associations with physical performance in sprint-trained male athletes. HsCRP, cell counts, HGB, FasL, miR-21, and miR-146a were measured cross-sectionally (n = 67, 18–90 yrs) and serum FasL, miR-21, and miR-146a and their aging-related associations with physical performance were assessed over a 10-year follow-up (n = 49, 50–90 yrs). The cross-sectional study showed positive age correlations for neutrophils and negative for lymphocytes, red blood cells, HGB, FasL, and miR-146a. During the 10-year follow-up, FasL decreased (P = 0.017) and miR-21 (P < 0.001) and miR-146a (P = 0.005) levels increased. When combining the molecule levels, aging, and physical performance, FasL associated with countermovement jump and bench press (P < 0.001), miR-21 and miR-146a with knee flexion (P = 0.023; P < 0.001), and bench press (P = 0.004; P < 0.001) and miR-146a with sprint performance (P < 0.001). The studied serum molecules changed in an age-dependent manner and were associated with declining physical performance. They have potential as biomarkers of aging-related processes influencing the development of physiological dysfunctions. Further research is needed focusing on the origins and targets of circulating microRNAs to clarify their function in various tissues with aging.

The Relationship Between Age and Divisional Rank in Professional Mixed Martial Arts

“…Physiologically, there has been shown to be a significant reduction in both maximal isometric force and voluntary explosive force in the first 500ms of movement between men of 20 years old and men of 40 years old, as well as a significant reduction in squat jump and countermovement jump height between both groups (Izquierdo, Aguado, Gonzalez, Lopez, & Hakkinen, 1999), demonstrating that there is a reduction in a person's ability to produce fast, high impulse movements with increased age. This is compounded by the apparent reduction in ground reaction forces and type II muscle fibre area in older athletes in comparison to younger athletes (Korhonen et al, 2009), with recent research linking these reductions to changes in skeletal muscle activity at a cellular level (Kangas et al, 2017). Whilst the speed of decision making in response to a stimulus does not seem to significantly deteriorate with age (Ratcliff, McKoon, & Thapar, 2001), the degradation of neuromuscular junctions and the increased variability of motor unit action potential discharge rates does appear to inhibit neural drive and therefore overall reaction time, movement force and efficiency (Hunter, Pererira, & Keenan, 2016).…”

The Effect of Strawberry Extract Supplementation on Caspase -3 and Cytochrome C After Resistance Exercise in Non-athletic Women

“…Furthermore, tissue biopsies were not obtained, but the effects of cell apoptosis can be detected by measuring the circulation by measuring serum cytochrome c (as apoptosis initiator) and caspase-3 (as effector caspase) (38). Based on previous studies (39), mixtures of ethanol/water were more efficient in extracting phenolic compounds.…”

sFasL—The Key to a Riddle: Immune Responses in Aging Lung and Disease

“…A similar increase in sFasL levels was detected in the serum of Werner syndrome patients, a typical accelerated aging syndrome, which was associated with chronic inflammation [ 17 ]. Although a few studies reported a mild decrease in the age-related increments of sFasL in serum in normal subjects [ 20 , 21 ], and they were even lower in athletes [ 22 ] ( Table 1 ), its increments with aging were further detected in animal studies [ 5 ]. In particular, the percentage of activated rat T-lymphocytes expressing FasL increased from about 5% in cells from young animals to more than 50% in old counterparts [ 23 ].…”