title: Interactions between immune, stress-related hormonal and cardiovascular systems following strenuous physical exercise.
abstract: Physical exercise represents a eustress condition that promotes rapid coordinated adjustments in the immune, stress-related hormonal and cardiovascular systems, for maintaining homeostasis in response to increased metabolic demands. Compared to the tight multisystem coordination during exercise, evidence of between-systems cross talk in the early post exercise is still lacking. This study was aimed at identifying possible interactions between multiple systems following strenuous physical exercise (Ironman race) performed by twenty well-trained triathletes. Cardiac hemodynamics, left ventricle systolic and diastolic function and heart rate variability were measured along with plasma concentrations of immune messengers (cytokines and C-reactive protein) and stress-related hormones (catecholamines and cortisol) both 24h before and within 20 min after the race. Observed changes in antiinflammatory pathways, stress-related hormones and cardiovascular function were in line with previous findings; moreover, correlating parameters' changes (post versus pre-race) highlighted a dependence of cardiovascular function on the post-race biohumoral milieu: in particular, individual post-race variations of heart rate and diastolic function were strongly correlated with individual variations of anti-inflammatory cytokines, while individual baroreflex sensitivity changes were linked to IL-8 increase. Multiple correlations between anti-inflammatory cytokines and catecholamines were also found according with the autonomic regulation of immune function. Observed post-race cytokine and hormone levels were presumptively representative of the increases reached at the effort end while the cardiovascular parameters after the race were measured during the cardiovascular recovery; thus, results suggest that sustained strenuous exercise produced a stereotyped cardiovascular early recovery, whose speed could be conditioned by the immune and stress-related hormonal milieu.
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Menicucci
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piarulli
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, via Savi 10, Pisa, Italy - Extreme Centre, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, via Moruzzi 1, Pisa, Italy - Email: gemignan@dfb.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mastorci
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sebastiani
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laurino
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garbella
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castagnini
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pellegrini
authors.forename: Valter
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lubrano
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metelli
authors.forename: Remo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bedini
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: L'abbate
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pingitore
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gemignani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002319:Cardiovascular System; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D016207:Cytokines; D006728:Hormones