The impact of obesity on pentraxin 3 and inflammatory milieu to acute aerobic exercise

• Published in: Metabolism, clinical and experimental clinical and experimental, 2015-02, Vol.64 (2), p.323-329
• Main Authors: Slusher, Aaron L, Mock, J. Thomas, Whitehurst, Michael, Maharaj, Arun, Huang, Chun-Jung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Bicycling; Body Mass Index; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Down-Regulation; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Exercise; Exercise Test; Female; Humans; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - blood; Male; Motor Activity; Muscle Contraction; Muscle, Skeletal - immunology; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Obesity; Obesity - blood; Obesity - immunology; Obesity - metabolism; Obesity - therapy; Oxygen Consumption; Pentraxin 3; Physical Fitness; Serum Amyloid P-Component - analysis; Serum Amyloid P-Component - metabolism; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood; Up-Regulation; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0026-0495; 1532-8600
• DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2014.10.022

Abstract Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) has recently been linked to obesity-associated inflammation, serving as a cardioprotective modulator against cardiovascular disease (CVD). Aerobic exercise has been shown to enhance plasma PTX3 levels; however, the impact of obesity on PTX3 response to exercise remains unknown. Objective Therefore, this study sought to examine whether obese subjects would have an attenuated plasma PTX3 response compared to normal-weight subjects following acute aerobic exercise. The relationship of plasma PTX3 with pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) was also examined. Methods Twenty healthy subjects (10 obese [4 males and 6 females] and 10 normal-weight [4 males, 6 females]) performed 30 min of continuous submaximal aerobic exercise. Results At baseline, obese subjects exhibited approximately 40% lower plasma PTX3 and a 7-fold greater IL-6 concentration compared to normal-weight subjects. In response to exercise, no difference was observed in PTX3 or IL-6 as indicated by area-under-the-curve “with respect to increase” (AUCi) analyses. Furthermore, PTX3 AUCi was positively correlated with cardiorespiratory fitness levels (VO2max ) (r = 0.594, p = 0.006), even after controlling for body mass index. Conclusion These findings suggest that in addition to obesity-associated complications, low cardiorespiratory fitness levels could impact exercise-induced PTX3 elevations, thereby potentially diminishing PTX3’s effects of anti-inflammation and/or cardioprotection.