The
anti-inflammatory effects of exercise
Bente K. Pedersen
Centre of Inflammation and
Metabolism (CIM), Department of Infectious Diseases,
Persistent
low-grade systemic inflammation is a feature of chronic diseases such as
cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes and
dementia and evidence
exists that inflammation is a causal factor in the development of insulin
resistance and atherosclerosis. Regular exercise offers protection against all of these diseases and
recent evidence suggests that the protective effect of exercise may to some
extent be ascribed to an anti-inflammatory effect of regular exercise. Visceral adiposity contributes to
systemic inflammation and is independently associated with the occurrence of
CVD, type 2 diabetes and dementia.
A
marked increase in systemic levels of IL-6 is provoked by a single bout of
exercise. IL-6 increases in an exponential fashion and is followed by the
increase in classical anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1ra and IL-10.
When IL-6 is infused to healthy people, it stimulates the production of IL-1ra
and IL-10 and inhibits TNF production. Thus, IL-6 represents a possible
key-factor in the anti-inflammatory effects of regular exercise. IL-15 is expressed by skeletal muscle,
but its expression is not regulated by acute exercise. However, a robust
increase in IL-15 protein levels in resting muscle occurs with training
adaptation. Clinical as well as experimental data suggest that IL-15 may be
involved in mediating the effect of exercise on visceral fat mass.
We
suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise may be mediated via
several mechanisms, including long-term effects of exercise leading to a
reduction in visceral fat mass as well as the induction of anti-inflammatory
cytokines with each bout of exercise
Key words: Muscle, Fat, Exercise, Cytokines,
Chronic Diseases