The acute response of apoptosis and migration to resistance exercise is protocol-dependent

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to compare the acute effects of resistance exercise (RE) designed for hypertrophy or local muscle endurance (LME) on CD4+ and CD8+ T cell apoptosis and migration. 14 untrained subjects (age 20.5±0.8 years, body mass 70.0±12.8 kg, body mass index 24.0±3.2 kg/m(2)), women (N=11) and men (N=3) completed 2 RE sessions (3 sets of 9 exercises) designed for hypertrophy at 10 repetitions maximum (RM) and LME at 60% of 10RM with 1-min rest-intervals between sets and exercises. The investigated lymphocytes were: CD4+, CD4+/CD69RA+, CD8+ and CD8+/CD69RA+ with cell surface markers annexin V and CX3CR1 analyzed by flow cytometry. Percentage of CD4+ positive for annexin V+ were higher immediately following and 24 h after the hypertrophy protocol as compared with LME, while CD4+ positive for CX3CR1 were higher immediately after and lower at the 24 h time point after LME as compared with the hypertrophy session. CD8+ lymphocytes responded similarly to the hypertrophy and LME protocols with elevations in both cellular migration and cell death immediately following and 24 h after the bouts (p≤0.05). Considering that the acute response of CD4+ lymphocytes to RE is protocol-dependent, a gradual adaptation to a hypertrophy program could minimize the effect on CD4+ lymphocytes and reduce the potential susceptibility to antigens during this timeframe. This would also be interesting for a RE program designed for LME based on the observed CD8+ lymphocyte response.