Influence of post-exercise hypoxic exposure on hepcidin response in athletes.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the influence of a simulated altitude exposure (~2,900 m above sea level) for a 3 h recovery period following intense interval running on post-exercise inflammation, serum iron, ferritin, erythropoietin, and hepcidin response.


METHODS
In a cross-over design, ten well-trained male endurance athletes completed two 8 × 3 min interval running sessions at 85 % of their maximal aerobic velocity on a motorized treadmill, before being randomly assigned to either a hypoxic (HYP: F IO2 ~0.1513) or a normoxic (NORM: F IO2 0.2093) 3 h recovery period. Venous blood was collected pre- and immediately post-exercise, and after 3 and 24 h of recovery. Blood was analyzed for interleukin-6, serum iron, ferritin, erythropoietin, and hepcidin.


RESULTS
Interleukin-6 was significantly elevated (p < 0.01) immediately post-exercise compared to baseline (NORM: 1.08 ± 0.061 to 3.12 ± 1.80) (HYP: 1.32 ± 0.86 to 2.99 ± 2.02), but was not different between conditions. Hepcidin levels were significantly elevated (p < 0.01) at 3 h post-exercise for both conditions when compared to baseline (NORM: 3.25 ± 1.23 to 7.40 ± 4.00) (HYP: 3.24 ± 1.94 to 5.42 ± 3.20), but were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the HYP trial compared to NORM. No significant differences existed between HYP and NORM for erythropoietin, serum iron, or ferritin.


CONCLUSIONS
Simulated altitude exposure (~2,900 m) for 3 h following intense interval running attenuates the peak hepcidin levels recorded at 3 h post-exercise. Consequently, a hypoxic recovery after exercise may be useful for athletes with compromised iron status to potentially increase acute dietary iron absorption.
School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, M408, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
Claire E
CE
Badenhorst
Brian
B
Dawson
Carmel
C
Goodman
Marc
M
Sim
Gregory R
GR
Cox
Christopher J
CJ
Gore
Harold
H
Tjalsma
Dorine W
DW
Swinkels
Peter
P
Peeling
D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D056352:Athletes; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000097:blood; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D064451:Hepcidins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*
D064451:Hepcidins; D004921:Erythropoietin; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron; D010100:Oxygen