The effects of a single and a series of Finnish sauna sessions on the immune response and HSP-70 levels in trained and untrained men.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of a Finnish sauna on the immune status parameters. The hypothesis was that hyperthermia would improve immune system's functioning by changing the proportion of lymphocyte subpopulations and would activate heat shock proteins. We assumed that the responses of trained and untrained subjects would be different. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Healthy men (20-25 years old) were divided into groups: the trained (T; n = 10), and the untrained group (U; n = 10). All participants were subjected to 10 baths (each one consisted of: 3 × 15-minute exposure with cooled down for 2 min. Body composition, anthropometric measurements, VO2 peak were measured before 1st sauna bath. Blood was collected before the 1st and 10th sauna bath, and 10 min after their completion to asses an acute and a chronic effect. Body mass, rectal temperature and heart rate (HR) were assessed in the same time points. The serum levels of cortisol, Il-6, HSP70 were measured with use of ELISA method, IgA, IgG and IgM by turbidimetry. White blood cells (WBC), leukocyte populations counts: neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, monocytes, and basophils were determined with use of flow cytometry as well as T-cell subpopulations. RESULTS: No differences were found in the increase in rectal temperature, cortisol and immunoglobulins between groups. In response to the 1st sauna bath, a greater increase in HR was observed in the U group. After the last one, the HR value was lower in the T group. The impact of sauna baths on WBC, CD56+, CD3+, CD8+, IgA, IgG and IgM was different in trained and untrained subjects' responses. A positive correlation between the increase in cortisol concentrations and increase in internal temperatures after the 1st sauna was found in the T (r = 0.72) and U group (r = 0.77), between the increase in IL-6 and cortisol concentrations in the T group after the 1st treatment (r = 0.64), between the increase in IL-10 concentration and internal temperature (r = 0.75) and between the increase in IL-6 and IL-10 (r = 0.69) concentrations, also. CONCLUSIONS: Sauna bathing can be a way to improve the immune response, but only when it is undertaken as a series of treatments.

Differences in the Pro/Antioxidative Status and Cellular Stress Response in Elderly Women after 6 Weeks of Exercise Training Supported by 1000 mg of Vitamin C Supplementation.

Vitamin C supplementation and exercise influence pro/antioxidative status and the cellular stress response. We tested the effects of exercise training for 6 weeks, supported by 1000 mg of vitamin C supplementation in elderly women. Thirty-six women were divided into two groups: a control group (CON) (n = 18, age 69.4 ± 6.4 years, 70.4 ±10.4 kg body mass) and a supplemented group (SUPP) (n = 18, aged 67.7 ± 5.6 years, body mass 71.46 ± 5.39 kg). Blood samples were taken twice (at baseline and 24 h after the whole period of training), in order to determine vitamin C concentration, the total oxidative status/capacity (TOS/TOC), total antioxidant status/capacity (TAS/TAC), and gene expression associated with cellular stress response: encoding heat shock factor (HSF1), heat shock protein 70 (HSPA1A), heat shock protein 27 (HSPB1), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). We observed a significant increase in TOS/TOC, TAS/TAC, and prooxidant/antioxidant balance in the SUPP group. There was a significant decrease in HSPA1A in the CON group and a different tendency in the expression of HSF1 and TNF-α between groups. In conclusion, vitamin C supplementation enhanced the pro-oxidation in elderly women with a normal plasma vitamin C concentration and influenced minor changes in training adaptation gene expression.

Effect of six weeks 1000 mg/day vitamin C supplementation and healthy training in elderly women on genes expression associated with the immune response - a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we investigated the effects of supplementation and exercise on the expression of genes associated with inflammation like CCL2, CRP, IL1, IL6, IL10 mRNA in elderly women. METHODS: Twenty four participants divided randomly into two groups were subjected to 6 weeks of the same health training program (three times per week). SUP group (supplemented, n = 12, mean age 72.8 ± 5.26 years and mean body mass 68.1 ± 8.3 kg) received 1000 mg of Vitamin C/day during the training period, while CON group (control, n = 12, mean age 72.4 ± 5.5 years and body mass 67.7 ± 7.5 kg) received placebo. RESULTS: No significant changes in IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and CRP mRNA were observed within and between groups. However, there was a clear tendency of a decrease in IL-6 (two-way ANOVA, significant between investigated time points) and an increase in IL-10 mRNA noted in the supplemented group. A significant decrease in CCL2 mRNA was observed only in the CON group (from 2^0.2 to 2^0.1, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded, that 6 weeks of supplementation and exercise was too short to obtain significant changes in gene expression in leukocytes, but supplementation of 1000 mg vitamin C positively affected IL-6 and IL-10 expression - which are key changes in the adaptation to training. However, changes in body mass, IL1 and CCL2 were positive in CON group. It is possible that Vitamin C during 6 weeks of supplementation could have different effects on the expression of individual genes involved in the immune response. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered.

Exercise Training and Vitamin C Supplementation Affects Ferritin mRNA in Leukocytes without Affecting Prooxidative/Antioxidative Balance in Elderly Women.

Physical training and antioxidant supplementation may influence iron metabolism through reduced oxidative stress and subsequent lowering of mRNA levels of genes that are easily induced by this stress, including those responsible for iron homeostasis. Fifteen elderly women participated in our 12-week experiment, involving six weeks of training without supplementation and six weeks of training supported by oral supplementation of 1000 mg of vitamin C daily. The participants were divided into two groups (n = 7 in group 1 and n = 8 in group 2). In group 1, we applied vitamin C supplementation in the first six weeks of training, while in group 2 during the remaining six weeks of training. In both phases, the health-related training occurred three times per week. Training accompanied by vitamin C supplementation did not affect prooxidative/antioxidative balance but significantly decreased ferritin heavy chain (FTH) and ferritin light chain (FTL) mRNA in leukocytes (for FTH mRNA from 2^64.24 to 2^11.06, p = 0.03 in group 1 and from 2^60.54 to 2^16.03, p = 0.01 in group 2, for FTL mRNA from 2^20.22 to 2^4.53, p = 0.01 in group 2). We concluded that vitamin C supplementation might have caused a decrease in gene expression of two important antioxidative genes (FTH, FTL) and had no effect on plasma prooxidative/antioxidative balance.

Anti-inflammatory effect on genes expression after four days of Qigong training in peripheral mononuclear blood cells in healthy women.

INTRODUCTION: Some studies have shown the influence of Qigong on gene expression in different cells, but there is little data associated with the influence of this kind of therapy on genes expression in pheripheral monocellucar blood cells. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the expression of genes associated with cellular stress response in peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PMBC) in healthy women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The experiment took place at the Japanese Martial Arts Centre "DOJO" in Stara Wies, Poland, conducted over the course of a 4-day qigong training session. To evaluate the genes effect of this training, blood samples were taken before and after the training period. This experiment involved 20 healthy women (aged 56.2±9.01, body height 164.8±6.5 and mass 65.5±8.2). To determine the expression of HSF-1, HSPA1A, NF-kB, IL10 and CCL2 mRNA, 3 ml of venous blood was collected. The blood samples were placed in tubes allowing for separation (BD Vacutainer CPT TM) before and after the 4 days of qigong training. Isolated PMBC were used to determine gene expression using real-time qRT-PCR (quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). RESULTS: Significant decreases in NF-kB and CCL2 mRNA and increases in IL10, HSF1 and HSPA1A m-RNA were detected after 4 days of qigong training. The obtained findings suggest that qigong caused a reduction in the inflammatory and intensified anti-inflammatory gene expression, as well as a higher expression of HSF-1 and HSPA1A. CONCLUSIONS: The adaptive response to qigong training was similar to the adaptive response to physical activity and was detected through gene expression in PMBC. Furthermore, this kind of training is especially indicated for women because of their higher susceptibility to psychosocial stress when compared to men.

Effects of sauna bathing on stress-related genes expression in athletes and non-athletes.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Heat stress induces the expression of genes encoding heat-shock proteins and immune response mediators. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the expression of genes encoding heat-shock proteins 70 kDa and27 kDa, interleukin 6, interleukin 10and C-reactive protein, between athletes and non-athletes after sauna bathing. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Athletes (n=9) and non-athletes (n=9) were exposed to a Finnish sauna twice during one session at a temperature of 98.2 °C and humidity of 10% ± 2%, with a 5 min break for cooling down under a shower. The groups did not differ in terms of age, height or body mass. Blood samples were taken before and after sauna exposure in order to assess gene expression, using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Differences were observed in leukocyte mRNA levels of tested genes between athletes and non-athletes. In the non-athlete group, all the tested genes were expressed at higher levels as a response to the same heat challenge. CONCLUSION: It appears that expression of stress-related genes induced by heat stress is dependent on the level of physical activity.

Vitamin C, A and E supplementation decreases the expression of HSPA1A and HSPB1 genes in the leukocytes of young polish figure skaters during a 10-day training camp.

BACKGROUND: Overexpression of HSPA1A and HSPB1 has been shown to indicate stress and the degradation of damaged proteins. Therefore, the expression of these genes is often evaluated during exercise. Vitamin supplementation in young athletes may affect the expression of these genes, and help to maintain health and improve the effects of training. METHODS: Fourteen top junior female athletes (age 14-15y ± 0.3 SD, body mass 51 kg ± 5 SD, and BMI of 20.15 ± 0.9 SD, time in professional training 8.5 y ± 0.5 SD) attended a conditioning camp that included meals planned by a team dietitian. To examine the effects of vitamin supplementation on antioxidant status we supplemented the athletes with either vitamin A (16 ug/kg/day), vitamin C (8 mg/kg/day) and vitamin E (1 mg/kg/day) or an inert placebo. Blood samples were taken before and after (12 h post) the camp to assess the relative expression of HSPA1A and HSPB1 mRNA in leukocytes via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: Overall, participants trained ~135 min daily (1345 min total). No statistically significant differences in HSPA1A and HSPB1 expression were observed between the groups before the camp. In the unsupplemented group, there was a non-statistically significant increase in HSPA1A expression (100% change) and a significant increase (37% change, p < 0.05) in HSPB1 expression over the study period. The supplemented group experienced a significant decrease in HSPA1A (40% change, p = 0.01) and HSPB1 (25% change p = 0.03) expression over the study period. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that supplementation with antioxidant vitamins decreases HSPA1A and HSPB1 mRNA expression in leukocytes, and thereby may reduce exercise-induced stress in young athletes, not only during training, but also in sports competitions.