Maximal Aerobic Exercise Alters Plasma BDNF And BDNF Expression In PBMCs In Obese And Non-obese

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of an acute bout of maximal aerobic exercise (VO2max) on plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and BDNF expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in obese and non-obese individuals. METHODS: Anthropometric data, plasma BDNF and the BDNF expression in PBMCs as well as VO2max were measured in 22 participants (9 obese, 12 non-obese). Blood samples were obtained at four time points; pre-, post-, 1-hour (R1H), and 2 hours (R2H) post-exercise. Plasma and PBMCs were isolated and analyzed for BDNF via ELISA and Western Blot techniques, respectively. A 2x4 repeated measures ANOVA was used with a Bonferroni test for post hoc comparisons. Pearson correlations were used to examine relationships between anthropometrics andVO2max with BDNF measures. Significance was set at p≤0.05. RESULTS: Significant group differences at pre-exercise were observed for BMI (34.5 ± 3.6 vs 21.9 ± 1.5 kg/m2, p <0.01), waist to hip ratio (115.5 ± 9.0 vs 94.7 ± 3.9cm, p <0.01) and VO2max (31.5 ± 5.6 vs 45.7 ± 8.2ml/kg/min-1, p <0.01). Post hoc comparisons revealed that plasma BDNF pre-exercise (1522.01 ± 689.18 pg/ml) was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than R1H (1119.52 ±1326.40 pg/ml) and R2H (871.06 ± 815.97 pg/ml), but not post-exercise (2483.37 ± 1104.44 pg/ml) in obese individuals. Further, a significant (p =0 .046) group by time interaction was found from pre-exercise (0.8053 ± 0.2784 vs 0.9726±0.2627 a.u) to R1H (1.003 ± .4230 vs 0.9255±0.2790 a.u) for BDNF expression in PBMCs in obese compared to non-obese individuals. A very strong correlation was observed between BMI and waist circumference (r= 0.9, p<0.01), while moderate correlations existed between waist to hip ratio (r= 0.51, p<0.002) and pre-exercise to R1H (r=0.58, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate a significant increase in PBMC BDNF expression from pre to R1H in obese individuals. This is consistent with other investigations suggesting a pro-inflammatory response mediated by maximal exercise. Correlations support the explanation that BDNF, both in circulation and within PBMCs is mediated by body mass, particularly when taking physical work capacity into account.