Acute Intensive Interval Training and In Vitro T-Lymphocyte Function

• Published in: International journal of sports medicine 1997-02, Vol.18 (2), p.130-135
• Main Authors: Hinton, J. R., Rowbottom, D. G., Keast, D., Morton, A. R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; AIDS/HIV; Biological and medical sciences; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - cytology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - physiology; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - cytology; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - physiology; Exercise - physiology; Exercise Tolerance; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Humans; Immunobiology; Immunology; Killer Cells, Natural - cytology; Lymphocyte Activation - drug effects; Lymphocyte Count; Male; Mitogens - pharmacology; Modulation of the immune response (stimulation, suppression); Oxygen Consumption; Physical Endurance - physiology; Phytohemagglutinins - pharmacology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - classification; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - cytology; T-Lymphocytes - cytology; T-Lymphocytes - physiology; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer - cytology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - cytology; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0172-4622; 1439-3964
• DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-972608

Five male endurance-trained runners completed an interval running session of 15 x 1-min intervals at 95% VO2 max. Venous blood samples were collected pre-exercise and then immediately, 30- and 60-minutes post-exercise. The response of cultures of total lymphocytes to mitogen (phytohaemagglutinin) were significantly reduced immediately after exercise, but returned to resting levels by 30-min of recovery. Conversely, the mitogen response of cultures of pure T-lymphocytes (CD4+ and CD8+ cells), separated using a magnetic separation technique, showed no significant change during the exercise and recovery periods. These data showed directly that there was no apparent change in the functional capability of T-lymphocytes following an intensive interval training session. Furthermore, there were significant changes in the composition of the total lymphocyte cultures immediately post-exercise; increased numbers of natural killer (NK) cells (CD56+) and T-suppressor cells (CD8+) and decreased numbers of T-helper cells (CD4+). There were also significant correlations between total mitogen response and the composition of the cultured lymphocytes. These data indicated that the large increases in NK cells, relative to T-cells, following intensive exercise, were the most likely cause of the reduced mitogen response of total lymphocyte cultures.