This study aimed to investigate the relationship between pre and post-exercise cardiac biomarker release according to athletic status (trained vs. untrained); and to establish whether the I/D polymorphism in the ACE gene had an influence on cardiac biomarkers release with specific regard on the influence of the training state. We determined cTnI and NT-proBNP in 29 trained and 27 untrained male soccer players before and after moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) and high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) running tests. Trained soccer players had higher pre (trained: 0.014±0.007 ng/mL; untrained: 0.010±0.005 ng/mL) and post HIIE (trained: 0.031±0.008 ng/mL; untrained: 0.0179±0.007) and MICE (trained: 0.030±0.007 ng/mL; untrained: 0.018±0.007) cTnI values than untrained subjects, but the change with exercise (ΔcTnI) was similar between groups. There was no significant difference in baseline and post-exercise NT-proBNP between groups. NT-proBNP levels were elevated after both HIIE and MICE. Considering three ACE genotypes, the mean pre-exercise cTnI values of trained group (DD: 0.015±0.008 ng/mL; ID: 0.015±0.007 ng/mL; II: 0.014±0.008 ng/mL) and their untrained counterparts (DD: 0.010±0.004 ng/mL; ID: 0.011±0.004 ng/mL; II: 0.010±0.006 ng/mL) did not show any significant difference. To sum up, noticeable difference in baseline cTnI was observed which was related to athletic status, but not ACE genotypes. Neither athletic status nor ACE genotypes seem to affect the changes in cardiac biomarkers in response to HIIE and MICE, indicating that the ACE gene does not play a significant role in the release of exercise-induced cardiac biomarkers indicative of cardiac damage in Iranian soccer players.
Keywords: ACE gene; NT-proBNP; exercise; hs-cTnI; training status.