Immune adaptation to chronic intense exercise training: new microarray evidence

Abstract

BackgroundEndurance exercise training, especially the high-intensity training, exhibits a strong influence on the immune system. However, the mechanisms underpinning the immune-regulatory effect of exercise remain unclear. Consequently, we chose to investigate the alterations in the transcriptional profile of blood leukocytes in young endurance athletes as compared with healthy sedentary controls, using Affymetrix human gene 1.1 ST array.ResultsGroup differences in the transcriptome were analyzed using Intensity-based Hierarchical Bayes method followed by a Logistic Regression-based gene set enrichment method.We identified 72 significant transcripts differentially expressed in the leukocyte transcriptome of young endurance athletes as compared with non-athlete controls with a false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05, comprising mainly the genes encoding ribosomal proteins and the genes involved in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Gene set enrichment analysis identified three major gene set clusters: two were up-regulated in athletes including gene translation and ribosomal protein production, and mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation and biogenesis; one gene set cluster identified as transcriptionally downregulated in athletes was related to inflammation and immune activity.ConclusionOur data indicates that in young healthy individuals, intense endurance exercise training (exemplifed by athletic training) can chronically induce transcriptional changes in the peripheral blood leukocytes, upregulating genes related to protein production and mitochondrial energetics, and downregulating genes involved in inflammatory response. The findings of the study also provide support for the notion that peripheral blood can be used as a surrogate tissue to study the systemic effect of exercise training.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3388-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Impact of a diet and activity health promotion intervention on regional patterns of DNA methylation

“…Previous studies examined the impact of physical activity or dietary interventions on DNA methylation in blood or circulating blood lymphocytes, but few examined an intervention incorporating both health behaviors [6][7][8][9][10]41]. For example, Nakajima et al demonstrated that moderate-intensity walking for ≥ 26 min/day, 2 days/week among 436 healthy adults was associated with ASC methylation [35], which controls IL-1β and IL-18 inflammatory cytokine expression [36].…”

“…Similarly, in the Cardiovascular Health Study, higher physical activity was associated with an anti-inflammatory phenotype via TNF hypermethylation and IL-10 hypomethylation [12]. Moreover, among adult endurance athletes and sedentary controls (n = 24), Liu et al found 72 differentially expressed genes in blood leukocytes with genes in inflammation and oxidative stress pathways [10]. Chilton et al found that treadmill running for 30 min was associated with higher TERT and SIRT6 gene expression in leukocytes, which regulate telomeres [8].…”

“…However, we know less regarding what biological mechanisms drive these associations at the molecular level. Health behaviors have been hypothesized to impact disease risk through epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. However, no studies have examined the impact of a lifestyle intervention including both dietary and physical activity components on epigenomewide patterns of DNA methylation in blood.…”

Lack of Effect of Choline Supplement on Inflammation, Muscle Endurance and Injury Indices, and Shooting Accuracy Following Simulated Army Ranger Operation

“…In line with the current findings, no significant alterations in blood immunoglobulin concentrations were reported in male distance runners after a 12.5-km run (18). Evidences suggest that regular exercise training down regulates biological processes of inflammation in athletes (19). It seems that lack of IgA levels change in army rangers after simulated operation stems from inflammatory processes down regulation due to regular army ranger training program.…”

Effects of Exercise Intensity on Alcohol Dehydrogenase Gene Expression in the Rat Large IntestineExercise and ADH Gene Expression

“…1 In particular, such research has rapidly increased since the completion of the genome maps of humans and several important model animals. Previous genome studies in sports medicine have mostly focused on the bodily and cellular responses to exercise.…”