Maternal distress in early life plays a role in the development of childhood asthma, especially if it continues beyond the postpartum period.

This study investigated the influence of 9 wk of chronic exercise on natural cytotoxicity in male C3H mice. Both in vivo cytotoxicity (pulmonary vasculature) and in vitro cytotoxicity (spleen) were determined for voluntary (wheel running; n = 30) and forced (treadmill running, 15 m/min, 30 min/day; n = 30) exercise protocols. A sedentary control group (n = 30) and a treadmill control group (5 m/min, 5 min/day; n = 30) were also included. After 9 wk of chronic exercise, submaximal exercise O2 uptake was reduced in the wheel-running group relative to that in sedentary or treadmill-trained mice. Maximal citrate synthase activity of soleus muscle was higher in treadmill-trained group compared with that in sedentary or wheel-running mice. Chronic exercise consistently reduced percent retention of CIRAS 3 tumor cells in the lungs of treadmill- (15.3 +/- 1.4) and wheel- (17.9 +/- 1.4) trained mice below that of sedentary (29.5 +/- 2.7) and treadmill control (25.8 +/- 1.8) groups (P < 0.001). Injection of anti-asialo GM1 (ASGM1) antibody increased tumor cell retention in the lungs for all groups but did not alter the differences between activity conditions. In vitro cytotoxicity was enhanced in treadmill- and wheel-trained mice relative to that in sedentary controls but was not elevated in the treadmill control group. Anti-ASGM1 injection eliminated in vitro cytotoxicity for all groups. Chronic exercise slightly increased the frequency of ASGM1-positive splenocytes in treadmill-trained mice only. These results indicate that chronic exercise enhances natural cytotoxic mechanisms in vivo and in vitro and that this enhancement is present for both forced and voluntary exercise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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This study examined the effect of exercise intensity and duration on the percent blood lymphocytes in men of low [LF; maximal O2 uptake (VO2max) less than 50 ml.kg-1.min-1 and sedentary], moderate (MF; VO2max = 50-60 ml.kg-1.min-1 and recreationally active), and high (HF; VO2max greater than 60 ml.kg-1.min-1 and recent training history) fitness. Thirty healthy adult men (aged 20-31 yr) participated in four randomly ordered cycle ergometer rides: ride 1 (65% VO2max, 30 min), ride 2 (30% VO2max, 60 min), ride 3 (75% VO2max, 60 min), and ride 4 (65% VO2max, 120 min). Blood samples were drawn at various times before and after the exercise sessions. Lymphocyte subsets were determined by flow cytometry using monoclonal antibodies for total T (CD3+), T-helper (CD4+), and T-suppressor (CD8+) lymphocytes and for a subset of cells expressing a natural killer (NK) cell antigen (Leu7+). Plasma catecholamines were assayed to determine exercise stress. There were sharp reductions (P less than 0.01) in the percentage of pan-T and T-helper lymphocytes immediately after exercise across all fitness levels; the magnitude of this reduction was greatest after the highest intensity (ride 3) or longest duration (ride 4) work. In contrast, the absolute number of T and T-helper cells tended to increase after exercise and significantly so in the HF subjects (P less than 0.005). There was no significant effect of exercise or subject fitness category on the percentage of T-suppressor lymphocytes, although the absolute numbers of this subset increased significantly after exercise in LF subjects. Marked increases (P less than 0.01) in the percentage of NK cells occurred immediately after exercise at all intensities and durations tested; numerical increases in total NK cells were significant in all fitness groups after the highest intensity work (ride 3; P less than 0.005). Irrespective of whether the changes were expressed as percentage or total numbers, recovery to base line occurred at 30 min after exercise. The results suggest that the exercise effect on blood lymphocyte subset percentages in men is transient and occurs across all fitness levels. Concomitant changes in plasma catecholamine concentrations are only weakly associated with these lymphocyte subset percentage responses to exercise. Furthermore, this study shows that the exercise-induced changes in lymphocyte percentages do not consistently reflect changes in the absolute numbers of cells.

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