Effects of Physical Activity at High Altitude on Hormonal Profiles in Foreign Trekkers and Indigenous Nepalese Porters

Tafuri, Alessandro; Bondi, Danilo; Princiotta, Alessandro; Pietrangelo, Tiziana; Yadav, Pabitra; Altieri, Vincenzo; Cerruto, Maria Angela; Pelliccione, Fiore; Antonelli, Alessandro; Verratti, Vittore

doi:10.1007/5584_2021_627

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The average daily intake of participants, estimated from food diaries loaded into an ad-hoc web database [ 22 ], included 39 ± 9 g (13 ± 2% of the total energy intake) of PUFAs among other nutrients and 3000 ± 500 g of water. The trekkers suffered the combined stress of physical exercise and hypoxia, as elsewhere reported with a suppression of the hypothalamus-pituitary gonadal axis and altered thyroid metabolic function [ 38 ], a weight loss and a reduction in total body water [ 22 ], while the mood disturbance scores were lower at high altitude [ 39 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

OxInflammation at High Altitudes: A Proof of Concept from the Himalayas

et al. 2022

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High-altitude locations are fascinating for investigating biological and physiological responses in humans. In this work, we studied the high-altitude response in the plasma and urine of six healthy adult trekkers, who participated in a trek in Nepal that covered 300 km in 19 days along a route in the Kanchenjunga Mountain and up to a maximum altitude of 5140 m. Post-trek results showed an unbalance in redox status, with an upregulation of ROS (+19%), NOx (+28%), neopterin (+50%), and pro-inflammatory prostanoids, such as PGE2 (+120%) and 15-deoxy-delta12,14-PGJ2 (+233%). The isoprostane 15-F2t-IsoP was associated with low levels of TAC (−18%), amino-thiols, omega-3 PUFAs, and anti-inflammatory CYP450 EPA-derived mediators, such as DiHETEs. The deterioration of antioxidant systems paves the way to the overload of redox and inflammative markers, as triggered by the combined physical and hypoxic stressors. Our data underline the link between oxidative stress and inflammation, which is related to the concept of OxInflammation into the altitude hypoxia fashion.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

OxInflammation at High Altitudes: A Proof of Concept from the Himalayas

et al. 2022

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“…The endocrine adaptations have also been reported elsewhere [ 31 ]; the main results are reported since they are inherently linked to the sexual axis. Briefly, the blood content of hormones was determined using an immuno-chemiluminescence assay.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Similarly, 17-β-oestradiol and prolactin were reduced after the trek. Regarding the thyroid axis, TSH did not change, while fT3 diminished after the trek [ 31 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fertility Impairment after Trekking at High Altitude: A Proof of Mechanisms on Redox and Metabolic Seminal Changes

Verratti

Mrakic‐Sposta

Fusi

et al. 2022

IJMS

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Many authors described negative but reversible effects of high-altitude hypoxic exposure on animal and human fertility in terms of sperm concentration, function, and biochemical alterations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of high-altitude exposure on classical sperm parameters, redox status, and membrane composition in a group of travellers. Five healthy Italian males, all lowlanders not accustomed to the altitude, were evaluated after 19 days-trekking through low, moderate, and high altitudes in the Himalayas. Sperm samples were collected before (Pre), 10 days after (Post), and 70 days after the end of the expedition (Follow-up). Sperm concentration, cholesterol and oxysterol membrane content, and redox status were measured. Hypoxic trek led to a significant reduction in sperm concentration (p < 0.001, η2p = 0.91), with a reduction from Pre to Post (71.33 ± 38.81 to 60.65 ± 34.63 × 106/mL) and a further reduction at Follow-up (to 37.13 ± 39.17 × 106/mL). The seminal volume was significantly affected by the hypoxic trek (p = 0.001, η2p = 0.75) with a significant reduction from Pre to Post (2.86 ± 0.75 to 1.68 ± 0.49 mL) and with partial recovery at Follow-up (to 2.46 ± 0.45 mL). Moreover, subjects had an increase in ROS production (+86%), and a decrease in antioxidant capacity (−37%) in the Post period with partial recovery at Follow-up. These results integrated the hormonal response on thyroid function, hypothalamus–pituitary–gonadal axis, and the prolactin/cortisol pathways previously reported. An uncontrolled ROS production, rather than a compromised antioxidant activity, was likely the cause of impaired sperm quality. The reduction in fertility status observed in this study may lie in an evolutionary Darwinian explanation, i.e., limiting reproduction due to the “adaptive disadvantage” offered by the combined stressors of high-altitude hypoxia and daily physical exercise.

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“…Under hypoxic conditions, inflammatory factors and related gene expression were increased (Yi et al 2021;Pham et al 2022), while dihydrotestosterone was able to reduce the production of inflammatory factors COX-2 and HIF-1α (Zuloaga & Gonzales 2011) as well as TNF-α and LPS-induced inflammatory responses in endothelial cells (Norata et al 2006). Other studies found that testosterone levels were reduced in mammals with high altitude exposure in order to reduce chronic mountain sickness caused by excessive erythrocytosis (Gonzales et al 2011;Ding et al 2018;Tafuri et al 2021). In our metabolic results, testosterone was not screened as a differential metabolite, but still had the tendency to decrease with altitude.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…2018; Tafuri et al. 2021). In our metabolic results, testosterone was not screened as a differential metabolite, but still had the tendency to decrease with altitude.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitude‐dependent metabolite biomarkers reveal the mechanism of plateau pika adaptation to high altitudes

Chen

Wang

et al. 2023

Integr. Zool.

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The harsh environment in the Tibetan plateau, the highest place in the world, poses thermoregulatory challenges and hypoxic stress to animals. The impacts of plateau environment on animal physiology and reproduction include external factors such as strong ultraviolet radiation and low temperature, and internal factors such as animal metabolites and gut microbiota. However, it remains unclear how plateau pika adapt to high altitudes through the combination of serum metabolites and gut microbiota. To this end, we captured 24 wild plateau pikas at the altitudes of 3400, 3600, or 3800 m a.s.l. in a Tibetan alpine grassland. Using the machine learning algorithms (random forest), we identified five biomarkers of serum metabolites indicative of the altitudes, that is, dihydrotestosterone, homo‐l‐arginine, alpha‐ketoglutaric‐acid, serotonin, and threonine, which were related to body weight, reproduction, and energy metabolism of pika. Those metabolic biomarkers were positively correlated with Lachnospiraceae_ Agathobacter, Ruminococcaceae, or Prevotellaceae_Prevotella, suggesting the close relationship between metabolites and gut microbiota. By identifying the metabolic biomarkers and gut microbiota analysis, we reveal the mechanisms of adaptation to high altitudes in plateau pika.

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Effects of Physical Activity at High Altitude on Hormonal Profiles in Foreign Trekkers and Indigenous Nepalese Porters

Cited by 5 publications

References 22 publications

OxInflammation at High Altitudes: A Proof of Concept from the Himalayas

OxInflammation at High Altitudes: A Proof of Concept from the Himalayas

Fertility Impairment after Trekking at High Altitude: A Proof of Mechanisms on Redox and Metabolic Seminal Changes

Altitude‐dependent metabolite biomarkers reveal the mechanism of plateau pika adaptation to high altitudes

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