Mobilizing serum factors and immune cells through exercise to counteract age-related changes in cancer risk

Ji Hui Hwang; Jacqui McGovern; Geoffrey M Minett; Paul A Della Gatta; Llion Roberts; Jonathan M Harris; Erik W Thompson; Tony J Parker; Jonathan M Peake; Oliver Neubauer

Mobilizing serum factors and immune cells through exercise to counteract age-related changes in cancer risk

Exerc Immunol Rev. 2020:26:80-99.

Authors

Ji Hui Hwang¹, Jacqui McGovern², Geoffrey M Minett³, Paul A Della Gatta⁴, Llion Roberts^{5

6}, Jonathan M Harris¹, Erik W Thompson^{1

7}, Tony J Parker¹, Jonathan M Peake¹, Oliver Neubauer^{1

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
² Centre in Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
³ School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
⁴ Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
⁵ School of Allied Health Sciences, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
⁶ School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
⁷ Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia.
⁸ Center for Health Sciences and Medicine, Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria.
⁹ Research Platform Active Ageing, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

PMID: 32139350

Abstract

An increasing body of evidence suggests that age-related immune changes and chronic inflammation contribute to cancer development. Recognizing that exercise has protective effects against cancer, promotes immune function, and beneficially modulates inflammation with ageing, this review outlines the current evidence indicating an emerging role for exercise immunology in preventing and treating cancer in older adults. A specific focus is on data suggesting that muscle- derived cytokines (myokines) mediate anti-cancer effects through promoting immunosurveillance against tumourigenesis or inhibiting cancer cell viability. Previous studies suggested that the exercise-induced release of myokines and other endocrine factors into the blood increases the capacity of blood serum to inhibit cancer cell growth in vitro. However, little is known about whether this effect is influenced by ageing. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. We therefore examined the effects of serum collected before and after exercise from healthy young and older men on the metabolic activity of androgen-responsive LNCaP and androgen-unresponsive PC3 prostate cancer cells. Exercise-conditioned serum collected from the young group did not alter cell metabolic activity, whereas post-exercise serum (compared with pre-exercise serum) from the older men inhibited the metabolic activity of LNCaP cancer cells. Serum levels of candidate cancer-inhibitory myokines oncostatin M and osteonectin increased in both age groups following exercise. Serum testosterone increased only in the younger men postexercise, potentially attenuating inhibitory effects of myokines on the LNCaP cell viability. The data from our study and the evidence in this review suggest that mobilizing serum factors and immune cells may be a key mechanism of how exercise counteracts cancer in the older population.

Keywords: ageing; cancer development; cancer growth-inhibitory molecular factors; exercise; immune-regulatory myokines; immuno-surveillance.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Aging*
Cell Line, Tumor
Exercise*
Humans
Immune System*
Male
Oncostatin M / blood*
Osteonectin / blood*
Prostatic Neoplasms / prevention & control*

Substances

Osteonectin
Oncostatin M