Effects of three different types of exercise on blood leukocyte count during and following exercise
Keywords:
Endurance, Exercise, Resistance, Immune cells, InflammationAbstract
CONTEXT: High-intensity exercise causes tissue damage, production of stress hormones, and alterations in the function and quantity of various immune cells. Many clinical-physical stressors such as surgery, trauma, burns and sepsis induce a pattern of hormonal and immunological response similar to that of exercise. It has thus been suggested that heavy exercise might be used to cause graded and well-defined amounts of muscle trauma, thereby serving as an experimental model for inflammation and sepsis. OBJECTIVE: In order to explore whether some form of strenuous exercise might provide an useful model for the inflammatory process, we studied the effects of three different exercise protocols on blood leukocyte count during and following exercise. DESIGN: Four different experimental conditions, using a randomized-block design. SETTING: Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, North York, Ontario, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Eight healthy and moderately fit males. PROCEDURES: Participants were each assigned to four experimental conditions. Subjects performed 5 minutes of cycle-ergometry exercise at 90%, 2 hours of cycle-ergometry exercise at 60%, a standard circuit of resistance exercises with 3 sets of 10 repetitions at 60 to 70% of one-repetition maximum (1- RM) force at each of 5 different stations; or they remained seated for 5 hours. DIAGNOSTIC TEST USED: Flow cytometric analysis. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Blood samples were analyzed for total leukocyte counts, total T cells, T helper/inducer cells, T suppressor/cytotoxic cells, B cells, cytolytic T cells, and natural killer cells. RESULTS: The peak aerobic and prolonged submaximal exercise induced similar alterations in cell counts. These changes were generally larger than those produced by the resistance exercise, although both resistance and peak aerobic exercise resulted in a significantly longer-lasting decrease in the CD4+ / CD8+ ratio than the submaximal exercise bout did. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that, of the three exercise patterns tested, prolonged aerobic exercise induced the largest and most readily measured patterns of immune response. Nevertheless, the changes provided only a partial model for the clinical inflammatory process.
Downloads
References
Schultz G. Experimentelle Untersuchungen bei das Vorkommen und die diagnostische Bedeutung der Leukocytose (Experimental research on the antecedents and diagnostic importance of leukocytosis). Dtsche Arch Klin Med 1893;51:234-81.
Shephard RJ. Physical activity, training and the immune re- sponse. Carmel, IN, USA: Cooper Publishing Group; 1997.
Northoff H, Enkel S, Weinstock C. Exercise, injury and im- mune function. Exerc Immunol Rev 1995;1:1-25.
Shephard RJ, Shek PN. Immune responses to inflammation and trauma: a physical training model. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1998;76(5):469-72.
Brenner IK, Natale VM, Vasiliou P, Moldoveanu AI, Shek PN, Shephard RJ. Impact of three different types of exercise on components of the inflammatory response. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1999; 80(5):452-60.
Rhind SG, Shek PN, Shinkai S, Shephard RJ. Differential ex- pression of interleukin-2 receptor alpha and beta chains in relation to natural killer cell subsets and aerobic fitness. Int J Sports Med 1994;15(6):311-8.
Durnin JV, Womersley J. Body fat assessed from total body density and its estimation from skinfold thickness: measure- ments on 481 men and women aged from 16 to 72 years. Br J Nutr 1974;32(1):77-97.
Dill DB, Costill DL. Calculation of percentage changes in vol- umes of blood, plasma, and red cells in dehydration. J Appl Physiol 1974;37(2):247-8.
Kendall A, Hoffman-Goetz L, Houston M, MacNeil B, Arumugam Y. Exercise and blood lymphocyte subset responses: intensity, duration, and subject fitness effects. J Appl Physiol 1990;69(1):251-60.
Nehlsen-Cannarella SL, Nieman DC, Balk-Lamberton AJ, et al. The effects of moderate exercise training on immune re- sponse. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1991;23(1):64-70.
Nieman DC, Nehlsen-Cannarella SL, Donohue KM, et al. The effects of acute moderate exercise on leukocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1991;23(5):578-85.
Nieman DC, Miller AR, Henson DA, et al. Effects of high- vs. moderate-intensity exercise on natural killer cell activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1993;25(10):1126-34.
Tvede N, Pedersen BK, Hansen FR, et al. Effect of physical exercise on blood mononuclear cell subpopulations and in vitro proliferative responses. Scand J Immunol 1989;29(3):383-9.
Pedersen BK, Kappel M, Klokker M, Nielsen HB, Secher NH. The immune system during exposure to extreme physiologic conditions. Int J Sports Med 1994;15(Suppl 3):S116-21.
Gabriel H, Urhausen A, Kindermann W. Circulating leukocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations before and after intensive en- durance exercise to exhaustion. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1991;63(6):449-57.
Nieman DC, Henson DA, Johnson R, Lebeck L, Davis JM, Nehlsen-Cannarella SL. Effects of brief, heavy exertion on circulating lymphocyte subpopulations and proliferative response. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1992;24(12):1339-45.
Gabriel H, Urhausen A, Kindermann W. Mobilization of cir- culating leukocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations during and after short, anaerobic exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1992;65(2):164-70.
Rhind SG, Shek PN, Shinkai S, Shephard RJ. Effects of moder- ate endurance exercise and training on in vitro lymphocyte pro- liferation, interleukin-2 (IL-2) production and IL-2 receptor expression. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1996;74(4):348-60.
Shinkai S, Shore S, Shek PN, Shephard RJ. Acute exercise and immune function. Relationship between lymphocyte ac- tivity and changes in subset counts. Int J Sports Med 1992;13(6):452-61.
Nieman DC, Henson DA, Sampson CS, et al. The acute im- mune response to exhaustive resistance exercise. Int J Sports Med 1995;16(5):322-8.
Pedersen BK. Influence of physical activity on the cellular immune system: mechanisms of action. Int J Sports Med 1991;12(suppl 1):S23-9.
Shephard RJ, Shek PN. Effects of exercise and training on natural killer cell counts and cytolytic activity: a meta-analysis. Sports Med 1999;28(3):177-95.
Nieman DC, Miller AR, Henson DA, et al. Effect of high- versus moderate-intensity exercise on lymphocyte subpopulations and proliferative response. Int J Sports Med 1994;15(4):199-206.
