Interleukins 1-beta, -8, and histamine increases in highly trained, exercising athletes.
OBJECTIVE
Exercise-induced hypoxemia (EIH) in highly trained athletes is associated with an increase in histamine release (%H) during exercise. Certain cytokines, known as histamine-releasing factors, are capable of interacting with basophils and/or mast cells to cause the release of histamine. The aim of this study was to determine whether the increased histamine release in highly trained athletes is related to a high plasma level in interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta), IL-3, or IL-8 in arterial blood.


METHODS
These parameters were measured in 11 endurance athletes (23.2 +/- 1.2 yr (mean +/- SEM)) known to develop exercise-induced hypoxemia and 11 control subjects (25.0 +/- 1.1 yr) at rest, during an incremental exhaustive exercise test, and at the fifth minute of recovery.


RESULTS
Histamine release increased between rest and maximal exercise in the athletes (P < 0.01), showing a strong correlation with EIH (r = 0.76, P < 0.01) and was unchanged in the controls. IL-3 plasma concentration was not altered with training and/or with exercise. Circulating IL-8 levels were not different between trained and untrained subjects at any testing level and increased at maximal exercise in both groups (P < 0.01). IL-1beta plasma levels were higher in athletes than in controls (P < 0.05) at each testing level and increased during exercise only in the athletes (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
An elevated concentration of IL-1beta in plasma and its association with increased IL-8 levels during exercise may partly explain the increase in %H associated with EIH in highly trained athletes. Histamine, IL-8, and IL-1beta releases during exercise reflect an inflammatory reaction, which is probably involved in EIH.
Mucci
P
P
Laboratoire de Physiologie des Interactions, (Upres EA 701) Hôpital A. de Villeneuve, Montpellier, France. physio34@aol.com
Durand
F
F
Lebel
B
B
Bousquet
J
J
Préfaut
C
C
D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006632:Histamine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia; D007249:Inflammation; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D010807:Physical Endurance
D007375:Interleukin-1; D016209:Interleukin-8; D006632:Histamine