Influence of the MCT1-T1470A polymorphism (rs1049434) on repeated sprint ability and blood lactate accumulation in elite football players: a pilot study.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the MCT1 T1470A polymorphism (rs1049434) on repeated sprint ability (RSA) and lactate accumulation after RSA testing. Twenty-six elite Italian male football players (age: 17.7 ± 0.78years; height: 179.2 ± 7.40cm; weight: 72.1 ± 5.38kg) performed RSA testing (6 × 30-m sprints with an active recovery between sprints), and lactate measurements were obtained at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10min post-exercise. Genotyping for the MCT1 T1470A polymorphism was performed using PCR. Genotype distributions were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, being 42% wildtype (A/A), 46% heterozygotes (T/A), and 12% mutated homozygotes (T/T). Significant differences between genotypic groups were found in the two final sprint times of the RSA test. Under a dominant model, carriers of the major A-allele (Glu-490) in the dominant model showed a significantly lower sprint time compared to footballers with the T/T (Asp/Asp) genotype (5th Sprint time: A/A + T/A = 4.60s vs TT = 4.97s, 95% CI 0.07-0.67, p = 0.022; 6th Sprint: A/A + T/A = 4.56s vs T/T = 4.87s, 95% CI 0.05-0.57, p = 0.033). The T1470A (Glu490Asp) polymorphism of MCT1 was associated with RSA. Our findings suggest that the presence of the major A-allele (Glu-490) is favourable for RSA in football players.