title: Sex as a determining factor in the effect of exercise on in vivo autoimmune response adjuvant arthritis.
abstract: The present study was conducted to examine the effect of physical exercise on the development of adjuvant arthritis (AA), an animal model of the human rheumatoid arthritis, which is a T-cell-dependent autoimmune response. AA was inducted on day 0 in 8-wk-old Lewis rats of both sexes. Between postinjection days 1 and 12, two groups of rats (male and female) were trained on a treadmill every day (45-120 min/day and 15-30 m/min) before the onset of arthritic disease. Trained female (n = 27) and male (n = 22) rats and control female (n = 29) and male (n = 17) rats were observed every 2 days for the following clinical signs of AA: number of arthritic joints (swelling and redness), paw thickness, and weight gain during the disease. The results show that the incidence of arthritis (% of arthritic rats) was significantly higher in trained female rats (74%; P < 0.03) and significantly lower in trained male rats (27%; P < 0.05) compared with control rats of both sexes (female, 45%; male, 59%). There was no difference in the severity and development of the disease between trained rats and control rats of both sexes (P > 0.05). The present study indicates that the effect of exercise on the incidence of AA, an in vivo autoimmune response, depends on the sex of the animal.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie des Adaptations, Faculté de Médecine Cochin-Port Royal, Université Paris V, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferry
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Page
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rieu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology