EFFECT OF A HIGH INTENSE EXERCISE TRAINING PROTOCOL UPON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.

Abstract

112 It is well known that exercise promotes several alterations in different parameters of the immune response. There is, however, a controversy about the final effect of exercise upon the immune system, since the response varies with intensity and duration of exercise and the individual fitness level. In this context there is a theory postulating a positive effect of moderate exercise in opposition to a negative effect induced by high-intensity exercise. These correlations led some suthors to postulate the profile of a“J” curve to explain the relationship between exercise and immune response. There is, however, a lack of information about the chronic effects of a high intensity training protocol upon immune cells metabolism, which present a high correlation between metabolism and function. To address this point we evaluated the effect of a high intensity training protocol upon glucose and glutamine metabolism in lymphocytes and the plasmatic level ofα-TNF (tumour necrosis factor) and IL-2 (interleukin-2) in these animals. Male Wistar rats were trained for 8 weeks at 85% VO2max., 5 days per week. The trained group presented a 22% reduction in lymphocyte proliferation. This functional change was accompanied by an increase in lactate (2.49-fold) and aspartate (7-fold) production. Lymphocytes from the trained group, however, did not present any change in glucose and glutamine consumption, indicating that the changes in the pathway of the metabolisation of these substrates are sufficient to impair their function. Trained animals also showed a reduction in IL-2 plasmatic concentration. The levels of glutamine and α-TNF were not altered by the training protocol. The results demonstrate that a high intensity training protocol reduces lymphocyte proliferation by modifying the profile of glucose and glutamine metabolism, which could be involved in the reduced production of IL-2.