ABSTRACT
The purposes of this study were to investigate the distribution characteristics of CAG repeat polymorphism in exon 1 of androgen receptor gene and the association of CAG polymorphism with VO2max response to hypoxic training in North China Han men. Sixty-five healthy young men completed a 30-day HiHiLo training (living high, exercise high and training low) in a simulated normobaric hypoxic environment. All subjects slept in 14.3-14.8% O2 concentration, and participated in hypoxic training three times a week in 15.4% O2 concentration. VO2max (peak oxygen consumption) and body weight were measured before and after hypoxic training. A total of 15 repeat alleles were observed by CAG genotype analyze, in which (CAG)22 was most common. When using 21 and 22 alleles, respectively, as cut-off points, we found that the baseline body weight of two shorter genotype groups was significantly lower than that of longer ones, and that the ΔVO2max and ΔrVO2max (Δrelative value of VO2max) of two shorter genotype groups were significantly higher than those of longer ones after hypoxic training. These findings indicated that AR CAG repeat polymorphism was associated with the exercise performance after simulated normobaric hypoxic HiHiLo training in North China Han men, and that the shorter genotypes had a better individual response to hypoxic training.