No abstract

The effect of 2.5 h of treadmill running at 75.6 +/- 0.9% VO2max on circulating leukocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations, epinephrine and cortisol concentrations, and the Con A-induced lymphocyte proliferative response was investigated in 22 experienced marathon runners (VO2max 57.9 +/- 1.1 ml.kg-1.min-1, age 38.7 +/- 1.5 yrs). Blood samples were taken 15 min before (07.15h) and immediately after exercise (10.00h), with three more samples taken during 6h of recovery (11.30, 13.00, 16.00h). Ten sedentary controls (34.7 +/- 1.0 ml.kg-1.min-1, 45.3 +/- 2.3 yrs) sat in the laboratory during testing and had their blood sampled at the same time points. Serum cortisol was elevated relative to controls for more than 3 h post-exercise, and correlated significantly with the 3-h post-exercise, and correlated neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (r = 0.68, p < 0.001). The concanavalin A- (Con A) induced lymphocyte proliferative response was decreased relative to controls for more than 3 h post-exercise, and except for the immediate post-exercise time point, tended to parallel the decrease in T cell (CD3+) concentrations.

The effect of 2.5 h of treadmill running at 75.6 +/- 0.9% maximal O2 uptake (VO2max) on natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxic activity (NKCA) was investigated in 22 experienced marathon runners (VO2max 57.9 +/- 1.1 ml.kg-1.min-1, age 38.7 +/- 1.5 yr). Blood samples were taken before (0715) and immediately after exercise (1000), with three more samples taken during 6 h of recovery (1130, 1300, and 1600). Ten sedentary controls (VO2max 34.7 +/- 1.0 ml.kg-1.min-1, age 45.3 +/- 2.3 yr) sat in the laboratory during testing and had their blood sampled at the same time points. The pattern of change in NKCA over time was significantly different between groups [F(4,27) = 6.53; P = 0.001], with the runner's NKCA dropping 51-61% below preexercise levels throughout 6 h of recovery. Preincubation of blood mononuclear cells in vitro with indomethacin had no effect on the difference in pattern of change in NKCA between groups [F(4,17) = 8.59; P = 0.001] and did not attenuate the postexercise reduction in the runners. When NKCA was adjusted on a per-NK cell basis, group differences and the postexercise decline in NKCA were eliminated [F(4,80) = 0.65; P = 0.63]. Serum cortisol and plasma epinephrine in the runners were elevated relative to control subjects during recovery from exercise, but no significant correlation with changes in NK cells or NKCA was found. These data indicate that NKCA is decreased significantly during recovery from 2.5 h of running due to a numerical redistribution of NK cells.

Reperfusion of ischemic tissues leads to eicosanoid- and polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN)-dependent injury. The present experiments were undertaken to examine the effect of myocutaneous flap ischemia-reperfusion on neutrophil 5-lipoxygenase activity and to define the role of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in postischemic PMN infiltration into such composite tissue grafts. Anesthetized Yorkshire pigs underwent 6 h of rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap ischemia or sham ischemia, and LTB4 generation was measured in calcium ionophore-stimulated neutrophils isolated from the circulation. At 30 min of reperfusion, neutrophil generation of LTB4 increased from a baseline value of 31.0 +/- 6.8 to 98.5 +/- 5.1 ng/5 x 10(6) PMN (P < 0.01) and was significantly greater than those neutrophils isolated from animals subjected to sham ischemia and reperfusion (54.3 +/- 4.1 ng/5 x 10(6) PMN; P < 0.01). Pretreatment of animals with the LTB4-receptor antagonist, SC-41930 (n = 5), significantly attenuated reperfusion-associated 5-lipoxygenase activation (60.3 +/- 11.6 ng LTB4/5 x 10(6) PMN; P < 0.01), suggesting the presence of a positive feedback mechanism for eicosanoid biosynthesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)