Maternal exercise reduces hyperthermia-induced apoptosis in developing mouse brain.

PURPOSE: Hyperthermia-induced apoptosis is mediated by mitochondrial pathway, and is temporally correlated with alterations in mitochondrial morphology in neuroepithelial cells. In addition, regular exercise up-regulates heat shock proteins (HSPs) that inhibit apoptosis. However, embryo-protective effects of maternal exercise against heat exposure during pregnancy have not been fully understood yet. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To investigate the role of maternal exercise in protecting embryos from hyperthermia, we measured apoptosis-related factors and HSPs in Hsp70 knockout mouse embryos. Pregnant mice were divided into control, exercise, hyperthermia-after-exercise, and hyperthermia groups. Where appropriate the swimming exercise was performed for 5-10 min/day from embryonic day (ED) 1 to ED 8, and hyperthermia (43°C, 5 min) was induced on ED 8. To characterise the effects of maternal exercise on apoptosis-related factors and HSPs, we performed western blotting and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: Caspase-9, -7, -3 and Bax were down-regulated in the hyperthermia-after-exercise group and Bcl-2, Hsp27 and Hsp110 were up-regulated. The number of apoptotic cells was markedly reduced in the hyperthermia-after-exercise group. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal exercise plays an important role in inhibiting apoptotic cell death in embryos against hyperthermic exposure during pregnancy.

Distribution of the Trp64Arg polymorphism in the ß 3-adrenergic receptor gene in athletes and its influence on cardiovascular function.

BACKGROUND: The Trp64Arg polymorphism in the beta3-adrenergic receptor (beta3-AR) gene was extensively studied concerning the relationship with cardiovascular (CV) diseases, but few studies addressed this issue in athletes. AIM: To examine the relationship between the Trp64Arg polymorphism in the beta3-AR gene and several CV functions such as cardiac structure and function or blood biochemical parameters in Korean male controls and athletes. METHODS: We recruited a total of 114 study subjects, including 81 male athletes (8 long distance runners, 17 soccer, 8 baseball, 10 basketball, 8 volleyball, 8 ice hockey, 8 judo, 6 taekwondo and 8 gymnastics) and 33 controls. Two dimensional echocardiography was performed in order to assess the cardiac structure and function and blood biochemical parameters were measured. Genotyping of Trp64Arg polymorphism in the beta3-AR gene was also performed by the SNaPshot method. RESULTS: The genotype and allele distribution of Trp64Arg polymorphism in the beta3-AR gene were significantly different among each sporting discipline, showing the highest Arg allele frequency in volleyball and gymnastics (p < 0.05). Also, this polymorphism was significantly associated with serum HDL-cholesterol and glucose level in athletes only (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed the significant associations between the Trp64Arg polymorphism in the beta3-AR gene and some CV parameters such as serum HDL-cholesterol and glucose levels in athletes. However, further studies of the precise mechanism behind these associations are needed.

Electroacupuncture up-regulates natural killer cell activity Identification of genes altering their expressions in electroacupuncture induced up-regulation of natural killer cell activity.

As an important cellular component of the innate immune system, NK cells constitute a first line of defense against various infections and malignancies. Previous studies have reported electroacupuncture (EA) modulation of natural killer cell (NK cell) activities. Our study confirmed that EA treatment increases NK cell activity using (51)Cr release assay. Furthermore, in order to better understand the activation mechanism of NK cell by EA, we employed a cDNA microarray technique to elucidate how EA alters gene expressions in the spleen of rats. We screened EA responsive genes using a high-throughput screening and identified 154 genes. Among those genes we selected 4 genes that are known to play a crucial role in NK cell activation and examined their mRNA expressions after EA treatment using RT-PCR. Our data shows that EA treatment increased CD94, PTK and VCAM-1 expressions while decreased PTP and SHP-1. These results imply that EA treatment increase PTK expression, which increases NK cell activity, through induction of CD94 while decreases SHP-1, which inhibits NK cell activity, simultaneously so that it activates NK cell with high efficacy. It seems that increased VCAM-1 expression is due to INF-gamma produced by activated NK cell. Increased production of VCAM-1 is expected to play an important role in binding of NK cell to the target cell. The result of our study may provide key insights in understanding the mechanisms of activation of NK cell induced by EA.

The protein polymorphism of haptoglobin in Korean elite athletes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate protein polymorphism of the haptoglobin (Hp) and the relationship between Hp phenotypes and anthropometric or biochemical parameters in elite Korean male athletes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 120 Korean male elite athletes. The Hp phenotypes were determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by peroxidase staining. Then anthropometric or biochemical measurements were made: body composition, blood pressures, ventilatory responses, cholesterol (total, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol), triglyceride, apolipoprotein A1, lipoprotein (a), creatine phosphokinase and lactate dehydrogenase. RESULTS: The gene frequencies of the Hp1-1, Hp2-1 and Hp2-2 phenotypes in Korean male athletes were 12, 37 and 51%, respectively; this polymorphism was significantly associated with the VO(2max) index in the athletes. An excess of the Hp1 allele was also observed in marathon runners compared with the other sporting activities, although it did not have any statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Hp polymorphism exists in elite Korean male athletes and Hp phenotype may be a useful marker for endurance performance in these male athletes.