Abstract 14969: A Four Week Exercise Intervention in a Cohort of Young Army Recruits is Associated With Anti-inflammatory and Pro-antioxidant Responses

Abstract

Introduction: Regular physical activity is considered a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention and is therefore strongly encouraged by most medical societies. Apart from its beneficial effects on classical cardiovascular risk factors, an anti-inflammatory effect is strongly implicated based on results from observational studies. Hypothesis: Data regarding the effect of an exercise intervention on healthy individuals are limited and contradictory. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a physical activity intervention on the inflammatory marker S100A8/A9, the soluble form of the receptors for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) and the anioxidant DJ-1. Methods: 332 young army recruits volunteered and 169 completed the study. The participants underwent the standard basic training of Greek army recruits which includes 2 hours of aerobic exercise, 5 times a week. Plasma S100A8/A9, sRAGE and DJ-1 were measured at the beginning and at the end of the training period. Results: At the end of the training period we observed a statistically significant reduction of S100A8/A9 (630.98 vs 472.12 ng/ml, p=0.001) and soluble RAGE (416.21 vs 225.19 pg/ml, p=0.001) while DJ-1 was significantly increased (62.48 vs 74.45 ng/ml, p<0.05). S100A8/A9 reduction was positively correlated with body weight (r=.238 [.106, .375], p=0.002), indicating that heavier individuals could benefit more from an exercise intervention. Conclusions: A 4 weeks military exercise training intervention resulted in a reduction of the pro-inflammatory S100A8/A9 complex as well as an increase of the anti-oxidant DJ- 1 protein, supporting the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of physical activity. The observed reduction of sRAGEs was interpreted as a sign of diminished AGE-RAGE axis activation.