The Relationships between Physical Activity, Exercise, and Sport on the Immune System

Exercise accelerates recruitment of CD8+ T cell to promotes anti-tumor immunity in lung cancer via epinephrine

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In recent years, there has been extensive research on the role of exercise as an adjunctive therapy for cancer. However, the potential mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor therapy of exercise in lung cancer remain to be fully elucidated. As such, our study aims to confirm whether exercise-induced elevation of epinephrine can accelerate CD8+ T cell recruitment through modulation of chemokines and thus ultimately inhibit tumor progression.

METHOD

C57BL/6 mice were subcutaneously inoculated with Lewis lung cancer cells (LLCs) to establish a subcutaneous tumor model. The tumor mice were randomly divided into different groups to performed a moderate-intensity exercise program on a treadmill for 5 consecutive days a week, 45 min a day. The blood samples and tumor tissues were collected after exercise for IHC, RT-qPCR, ELISA and Western blot. In addition, another group of mice received daily epinephrine treatment for two weeks (0.05 mg/mL, 200 µL i.p.) (EPI, n = 8) to replicate the effects of exercise on tumors in vivo. Lewis lung cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of epinephrine (0, 5, 10, 20 µM) to detect the effect of epinephrine on chemokine levels via ELISA and RT-qPCR.

RESULTS

This study reveals that both pre- and post-cancer exercise effectively impede the tumor progression. Exercise led to an increase in EPI levels and the infiltration of CD8+ T cell into the lung tumor. Exercise-induced elevation of EPI is involved in the regulation of Ccl5 and Cxcl10 levels further leading to enhanced CD8+ T cell infiltration and ultimately inhibiting tumor progression.

CONCLUSION

Exercise training enhance the anti-tumor immunity of lung cancer individuals. These findings will provide valuable insights for the future application of exercise therapy in clinical practice.

Regular moderate physical exercise decreases Glycan Age index of biological age and reduces inflammatory potential of Immunoglobulin G

Physical inactivity and obesity are growing concerns, negatively impacting the general population. Moderate physical activity is known to have a beneficial anti-inflammatory effect. N-glycosylation of immunoglobulin G (IgG) reflects changes in the inflammatory potential of IgG. In this study, GlycanAge index of biological age (GlycanAge), one of the first commercially used biomarkers of aging, was employed to assess effects of exercise intensity in three different groups of athletes: professional competing athletes, regularly moderate active individuals and newly involved recreational individuals, compared to the group of inactive individuals. GlycanAge was significantly lower in the active group compared to the inactive group (β = -7.437, p.adj = 7.85E-03), and nominally significant and increased in professional athletes compared to the active group (β = 7.546, p = 3.20E-02). Competing female athletes had significantly higher GlycanAge comparing to active females exercising moderately (β = 20.206, p.adj = 2.71E-02), while the latter had significantly lower GlycanAge when compared with the inactive counterparts (β = -9.762, p.adj = 4.68E-02). Regular, life-long moderate exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect in both female and male population, demonstrated by lower GlycanAge index, and it has great potential to mitigate growing issues related to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, which are relentlessly increasing world-wide.

Potential involvement of neutrophils on exercise effects in breast cancer malignancy

PURPOSE

This review aimed to comprehensively explore and elucidate multifaceted neutrophils in breast cancer, particularly in the context of physical activity. Neutrophils play a critical role in the tumor microenvironment and systemic immune response, despite their short half-life and terminal differentiation. Through a thorough review of research related to changes in immunity in breast cancer during exercise, this review aims to provide comprehensive insights into immunological changes, especially focusing on neutrophils. Recognizing that much of the existing research has predominantly focused on T cells and nature killer (NK) cells, our review seeks to shift the spotlight toward understanding how exercise affects neutrophils, a less-explored but critical immune response component in breast cancer.

METHODS

This study involved an extensive review of the literature (from 2000 to 2023) using the PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. The keywords chosen for the searches were "immune cells and exercise," "exercise and breast cancer," "tumor microenvironment and neutrophils," and "neutrophils and exercise and breast cancers."

RESULTS

Neutrophils in the tumor microenvironment can exhibit distinct phenotypes and functions. These differences have yielded conflicting results regarding tumor progression. Exercise plays a positive role in breast cancer and alters the immune system. Physical activity can quantitatively and functionally regulate neutrophils under various conditions such as metabolic disruption or senescence.

CONCLUSION

This short communication outlines exercise-induced neutrophil diversification and its role in breast cancer progression, both within and systemically within the tumor microenvironment. Exercise may provide benefits through the potential neutrophil involvement in breast cancer.

Exercise-induced modulation of Interferon-signature: a therapeutic route toward management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic autoimmune disorder characterized by flares-ups/remissions with a complex clinical picture related to disease severity and organ/tissue injury, which, if left untreated, may result in permanent damage. Enhanced fatigue and pain perception, worsened quality of life (QoL) and outcome are constant, albeit symptoms may differ. An aberrant SLE immunoprofiling, note as "interferon (IFN)α-signature", is acknowledged to break immunotolerance. Recently, a deregulated "IFNγ-signature" is suggested to silently precede/trigger IFNα profile before clinical manifestations. IFNα- and IFNγ-over-signaling merge in cytokine/chemokine overexpression exacerbating autoimmunity. Remission achievement and QoL improvement are the main goals. The current therapy (i.e., corticosteroids, immunosuppressants) aims to downregulate immune over-response. Exercise could be a safe treatment due to its ever-emerging ability to shape and re-balance immune system without harmful side-effects; in addition, it improves cardiorespiratory capacity and musculoskeletal strength/power, usually impaired in SLE. Nevertheless, exercise is not yet included in SLE care plans. Furthermore, due to the fear to worsening pain/fatigue, SLE subjects experience kinesiophobia and sedentary lifestyle, worsening physical health. Training SLE patients to exercise is mandatory to fight inactive behavior and ameliorate health. This review aims to focus the attention on the role of exercise as a non-pharmacological therapy in SLE, considering its ability to mitigate IFN-signature and rebalance (auto)immune response. To this purpose, the significance of IFNα- and IFNγ-signaling in SLE etiopathogenesis will be addressed first and discussed thereafter as biotarget of exercise. Comments are addressed on the need to make aware all SLE care professional figures to promote exercise for health patients.

Patterns of physical activity and SARS-CoV-2 severe pneumonia: A case-control study

BACKGROUND

Regular physical activity is associated with a low risk of severe community-acquired infections. However, the hypothesis that a physical inactivity pattern is associated with a higher risk for severe COVID-19 has not been completely proven, especially with severe pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to confirm the link between physical activity patterns and severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.

DESIGN

Case-control study.

METHODS

This study involved 307 patients who developed SARS-CoV-2 severe pneumonia and were hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Age- and sex-matched controls (307) were selected from the same population: patients with mild to moderate forms of COVID-19 who were not hospitalized. Physical activity patterns were assessed using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

RESULTS

The mean physical activity levels were lower in the SARS-CoV-2 severe pneumonia group as compared to the control group: 1576±2939 vs 2438±2999, metabolic equivalent of task (MET-min/week), p<0.001. A high or moderate physical activity level was more common in the control group, and a low physical activity level was more observed in the case group (p<0.001). Obesity was also associated with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia (p<0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that a low physical activity level was associated with a higher risk for severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, independent of nutritional status (CI 3.7; 2.24-5.99), p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

A higher and moderate level of physical activity is linked to a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 severe pneumonia.

Physical activity and immunity in obese older adults: A systematic bibliographic analysis

Extensive research has been conducted on the roles of physical activity in immune functioning. However, reviews on the effect of physical activity on immune function among obese older adults are scarce. This study aimed to map the trend and development of the key terms and prominent sources to identify potential research opportunities through a systematic bibliographic analysis. A systematic search was conducted in the Scopus database on the following query: (sport∗ OR "physical activity" OR exercise) AND (elderly OR "older adult∗" OR aging) AND (immun∗) AND (obes∗) AND NOT (animal), in March 2023. Publication timing and citation were descriptively analyzed, followed by the bibliographic coupling and the term co-occurrence analyses for generating network and overlay visualization mapping using the VOSviewers software. The search resulted in 426 articles dating back from 1991 to the present and were dominated by authors from Western countries. Three thematic clusters of this research area were generated, covering (1) the impact of physical activity or inactivity on health, (2) physical activity assessments and the use of association and cross-sectional study as the primary type of research, and (3) the physical activity impacts at the population level. For future research, more intervention studies are needed to understand how exercise affects immune response in older obese adults and to explore optimal duration, type, and intensity of the exercise, using a multi-omics approach. Studies in non-Western populations and systematic reviews are recommended to complement this bibliographic analysis.

Effects of exercise on immune cells with tumor-specific activity in breast cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Exercise is effective for improving the physical and psychological health of breast cancer patients. However, there is still controversy around its role on the immune system. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis is aimed to evaluate the effect of chronic exercise on the number and activity of the immune cells that can contribute to anti-tumor immune responses, such as natural killers (NK) cells, CD + 4, or CD + 8. The main hypothesis of this study was that exercise could improve the immune system or, at least, there will not be a reduction in the number or activity of immune cells because of exercise. The search was conducted in the PubMed and Web of Science databases. Out of 244 studies reviewed, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included in the meta-analyses showed mixed results and no significant (p > 0.05) positive or negative effects of exercise interventions in women with breast cancer. Therefore, the current evidence indicates that exercise does not significantly improve or reduce the immune system; thus, the prescription of exercise must not be discouraged due to the effects on the number and activity of immune system cells, but should be recommended due to the well-known benefits in quality of life, physical function or fatigue, and the absence of negative effects on the immune system. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effects according to the type of exercise, the type of cancer, or the timing of the intervention.

The Influence of Abdominal Adiposity and Physical Fitness on Obesity Status of Portuguese Adolescents

The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between abdominal adiposity and physical fitness in the obesity status of Portuguese adolescents. BMI, abdominal adiposity, and physical fitness tests from the FITescola^® were evaluated in a total of 654 Portuguese adolescents, aged 10-19 years old-male: n = 334 (51%), female: n = 320 (49%). For the final model, BMI was positively related with age (β = 0.25), abdominal adiposity (β = 0.313), horizontal jump (β = -0.100), 40 m maximal velocity (β = 0.274), and aerobic fitness (β = -0.250, R² = 0.75, F = 382.2, and p = 0.0001). We conclude that higher age and abdominal adiposity are positively related with a higher adolescent BMI. Furthermore, lower horizontal jump distances and worse times on the 40 m maximal velocity were inversely related with a higher adolescent BMI, and lower aerobic fitness was inversely related with a higher adolescent BMI.