Whole body vibration elicits differential immune and metabolic responses in obese and normal weight individuals

Abstract

Traditional aerobic exercise decreases the risk of developing inflammatory diseases in both obese and normal weight individuals. The magnitude of the anti‐inflammatory immune response following traditional exercise is reduced and the time‐course is shorter in obese compared to normal weight individuals. Although obesity may affect the ability to engage in traditional exercise, whole body vibration (WBV) has emerged as a more tolerated alternative. The impact of WBV on immune‐mediated inflammation in obesity, however, is unknown. PURPOSE To determine if WBV elicits a differential magnitude and time‐course of immune‐mediated inflammation between obese and normal weight individuals. METHODS 11 obese (OB) (BMI: 35.9 ± 8.8 kg/m2, Age: 33 ± 4 y, percent body fat (%BF): 39.1 ± 2.4%) and 12 normal weight (NW) (BMI: 21.3 ± 2.2 kg/m2, Age: 29 ± 7 y, %BF: 17.4 ± 2.1%) men and women participated in this study. Following IV insertion and a resting (PRE) blood draw, each participant performed the WBV protocol, which consisted of 10 cycles of 1 minute of WBV in a static squat position followed by 30 seconds of rest. Following completion of the WBV protocol, blood samples were obtained immediately (POST), 1 hour (1h), 3 hours (3h), and 24 hours (24h) post‐WBV. Blood was analyzed for leukocyte composition (immune‐mediated inflammation) and IL‐6 (muscle activation). RESULTS PRE leukocyte composition was not different between groups. In NW, the percentage of neutrophils decreased (1h: 62 ± 3% vs. 24h: 54 ± 3%, p=0.009) and the percentage of lymphocytes increased (1h: 28 ± 3% vs. 24h: 35 ± 2%, p=0.011). In contrast, there were no changes in leukocyte composition in OB. An association was observed between %BF and the percentage of monocytes at POST (r= −0.67, p=0.023) and 1h (r= −0.65, p=0.03) in OB, whereas in NW %BF was only correlated with percentage of monocytes at PRE (r= −0.61, p=0.045). Although IL‐6 was higher in OB compared with NW at each time point (all p<0.05), a similar percent change from baseline was observed between groups for all post‐WBV time points. IL‐6 at PRE was correlated with percent change at 3h (r= −0.61, p=0.048) only in OB. CONCLUSION WBV elicited favorable alterations in leukocyte composition over time in NW, while no change in leukocytes were detected in OB. In addition, adiposity appears to impact the timing of the leukocyte response to WBV. Although WBV provoked similar IL‐6 changes in both groups, higher concentrations of IL‐6 at PRE appeared to be related to smaller changes at 3h in OB. Taken together, these data suggest a differential inflammatory immune response to WBV exercise between obese and normal weight individuals. Support or Funding Information Supported by Medical College of Georgia TUPP award This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Prevention of Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outcomes by Reducing Low-Grade Inflammation in High-Risk Categories

“…Besides insulin therapy and probiotic supplementation, other interventional measures like whole-body vibration, increased exercise, and nutritional changes, which aimed to decrease insulin resistance (IR), improve BG control, and restore intestinal eubiosis, were shown to significantly downregulate LGI by decreasing IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1-β levels (36)(37)(38)(39)(40). Although there is no direct evidence certifying a protective effect of supplements like Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Zinc, probiotics, and synbiotics on COVID-19 outcomes, we are hypothesizing that preventive measures targeting LGI can lower the propensity to develop severe disease (41)(42)(43)(44).…”

Potential Application of Whole Body Vibration Exercise for Improving the Clinical Conditions of COVID-19 Infected Individuals: A Narrative Review from the World Association of Vibration Exercise Experts (WAVex) Panel

“…A recent study by Song et al [35] aimed at assessing the possible effects of WBV on immune cell differentiation and inflammatory markers reported significant increases in lymphocyte and Treg cells normally associated with improvements in the inflammation barrier function. Blanks et al [36] also assessed the impact of WBV on the immune system in healthy participants (ages 18-45 y) (14 Hz, 2.5 mm,~2.1 g) with 10 sets of 1 min vibration periods followed by 30 s of standing rest. The authors observed a significant increase in neutrophil percentage and increases in IL-6, a well-known myokine.…”

“…Based on the aforementioned evidence, it seems that IL-6 in response to muscle activation (i.e., WBV) has a number of anti-inflammatory benefits including increased anti-inflammatory cytokine production which could contribute to an attenuation of basal inflammation [62,67]. Blanks et al [36] even suggested that WBV enhanced tissue IL-6 sensitivity and hypothesized, based on previous results after acute exercise [64], that this exercise paradigm would increase anti-inflammatory cytokine production (IL-10). This is consistent with a recent pilot study aimed at assessing the efficacy of WBV on inflammatory markers in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.…”

“…Increases in the percentage of lymphocytes in response to WBV exercise have also been observed [36,37]. Authors showed that squat exercise training with superimposed WBV might modulate T-cell-mediated immunity [37], considered a key aspect in the management of COVID-19 [4].…”

The effects of whole‐body vibration amplitude on glucose metabolism, inflammation, and skeletal muscle oxygenation

“…Similar to traditional exercise modalities, WBV can elicit beneficial effects on metabolic health. In fact, a single bout of WBV increases circulating concentrations of IL‐6, which correspond with the normalization of glucose and insulin in obese individuals (Blanks et al, 2020). During bouts of traditional exercise, improvements in glucose metabolism are intensity‐dependent (Clark et al, 2003; Richter et al, 1985).…”