Abstract
Several hallmarks of aging have been identified and examined separately in previous exercise studies. For the first time, this study investigates the effect of lifelong regular exercise in humans on two of the central aging hallmarks combined. This cross-sectional study involved 129 healthy, non-smoking women, including young elite football players (YF, n = 29), young untrained controls (YC, n = 30), elderly team handball players (EH, n = 35) and elderly untrained controls (EC, n = 35). From a resting blood sample, mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated and sorted into monocytes and lymphocytes. Telomere length, mitochondrial (mtDNA) copy number and key regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis and function (PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression) were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Overall, young women showed significantly longer telomeres and higher PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression, but lower mtDNA copy number compared to elderly subjects. A multivariate analysis showed that YF had 22–24% longer telomeres in lymphocytes and MNCs compared to YC. In addition, YF showed 19–20% higher mtDNA copy number in lymphocytes and MNCs compared to YC. The two young groups did not differ in PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression. EH showed 14% lower mtDNA copy number in lymphocytes compared to EC, but 3.4-fold higher lymphocyte PGC-1α expression compared to EC. In MNCs, EH also showed 1.4–1.6-fold higher PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression. The two elderly groups did not differ in telomere length. Elite football training and lifelong team handball training are associated with anti-aging mechanisms in leukocytes in women, including maintenance of telomere length and superior mitochondrial characteristics.
Highlights
Previous studies show that engagement in physical activity is associated with healthy aging and decreased risk of chronic diseases[9], whereas the relationship between telomere length and level of physical training is still a matter of some debate
Telomere length was negatively correlated with age in all cell types, including lymphocytes (r2 = 0.26, p < 0.001), monocytes (r2 = 0.23, p < 0.001) and mononuclear cells (MNCs) (r2 = 0.28, p < 0.001), with young subjects showing 44–54% longer telomeres than elderly subjects depending on the cell type (Fig. 1A)
Our multivariate analysis corrected for age showed that young football players (YF) had 24% longer telomeres in lymphocytes compared to young controls (YC) (5.67 ± 0.45 vs 4.59 ± 0.24 kb, p = 0.016) and 22% longer telomeres in MNCs compared to YC (5.12 ± 0.33 vs 4.21 ± 0.19 kb, p = 0.010, Fig. 1B)
Summary
Previous studies show that engagement in physical activity is associated with healthy aging and decreased risk of chronic diseases[9], whereas the relationship between telomere length and level of physical training is still a matter of some debate. A systematic review from 2020 showed that better cardiorespiratory fitness or a large cardiorespiratory training load are associated with longer telomeres in older healthy humans, but not in young subjects[10]. Being part of a community and developing relationships are two of the main reasons why older adults keep participating in s ports[14] Team sports, such as football and team handball, are characterised by an important social factor, while combining endurance, interval and resistance training in one activity[15,16]. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to examine telomere length, mtDNA copy number and key regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis and function (PGC-1α and PGC-1β) in elderly female team handball players and young female elite football players in comparison with age-matched untrained women
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