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Cold weather exercise and airway cytokine expression
Michael S Davis1, Jerry R Malayer, Lori Vandeventer
1Department of Physiological Sciences, Comparative Exercise Physiology Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, 264 McElroy Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. msdavis@okstate.edu
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|February 12, 2005
Summary
Breathing cold air during exercise can cause asthmalike airway disease in athletes. This study in horses shows cold air upregulates specific cytokines, leading to airway inflammation and T(H)2-like responses.
Area of Science:
- Exercise physiology
- Respiratory medicine
- Immunology
Background:
- Athletes exercising in cold air often develop chronic airway disease.
- The underlying mechanisms linking cold air exercise to airway inflammation remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if exercise-induced chronic airway disease is caused by breathing unconditioned cold air.
- To test the hypothesis that cold air exposure upregulates cytokine expression in the airways.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a novel animal model of exercising horses.
- Collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) after submaximal exercise in warm and cold air conditions.
- Quantified cytokine mRNA expression in BALF cells using real-time RT-PCR.
Main Results:
- No significant changes in BALF total or differential cell counts were observed between conditions.
- A trend towards increased airway epithelial cells was noted after cold air exercise.
- T(H)2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10) were significantly upregulated (12-, 9-, and 10-fold, respectively) after cold air exercise.
Conclusions:
- Cold weather exercise can induce asthmalike airway disease.
- The mechanism involves the local induction of T(H)2-phenotype cytokines.
- This finding provides insight into airway inflammation in athletes exposed to cold environments.