Abstract
This study was aimed at examining the impact of common types of physical efforts used to determine the aerobic and anaerobic performance of the participants on the complement system in their peripheral blood. Fifty-one physically active young males aged 16 years old (range 15–21 years) were divided into two age groups (younger, 15–17 years old and older, 18–21 years old) and performed two types of intensive efforts: aerobic (endurance; 20-m shuttle run test; Beep) and anaerobic (speed; repeated speed ability test; RSA). Venous blood samples were collected before and after each exercise (5 and 60 min) to profile the complement system components, namely the levels of C2, C3, C3a, iC3b, and C4. The endurance effort caused a decrease in the post-test C3 (p < 0.001 for both age groups) and increase in post-test C3a (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01 for the younger and older group, respectively), recovery iC3b (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05 for younger and older group, respectively), recovery C2 (p < 0.01 for both age groups), and post-test C4 (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 for the younger and older group, respectively) levels, while the speed effort caused a decrease only in the post-test C2 (p < 0.05 for younger participants) and post-test C4 levels (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01 for the younger and older group, respectively) and an increase in the recovery C3a level (p < 0.05). Our study provides evidence that different types of physical effort promote different immune responses in physically active young men. Aerobic exercise induced the activation of an alternative pathway of the complement system, whilst the anaerobic effort had little influence. A better understanding of the post-exercise immune response provides a framework to prescribe physical activity to achieve different health outcomes.
Highlights
The complement system is part of the innate immune system, which provides a protective mechanism against pathogens in the absence of specific adaptive immunity [1]
Disturbances in the functioning of cellular components, such as T lymphocytes or natural killer (NK) cells, are associated with the frequency of high-intensity short-term exercise. This leads to the shift of balance toward an initiation of inflammation, including the secretion of pro-inflammatory and regulatory signaling factors, causing a violent and aggressive inflammatory response that resembles the immune response to primary antigens [43,45]
Literature data describing the impact of physical effort on complement system activation are not numerous, and the results presented in them are not consistent
Summary
The complement system is part of the innate immune system, which provides a protective mechanism against pathogens in the absence of specific adaptive immunity [1]. It is a link between the innate and acquired immune systems [2]. Proteins of the complement system are key factors in providing host surveillance and protection through various functions, including targeting inflammatory reactions, phagocyte attraction by chemotaxis, the removal of immune complexes (the scavenging of necrotic and apoptotic debris), activating cells, participating in developmental and regenerative processes, and the modulation of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses [3,4]. Complement C3 plays a key role in a classic and alternative way of activation. An overactivation of complement activity or incorrect localization can be harmful to the body, leading to serious diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, sepsis, or hyperacute organ rejection [7]
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