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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

In Vitro Assay to Evaluate the Impact of Immunoregulatory Pathways on HIV-specific CD4 T Cell Effector Function
Published on: October 15, 2013
Individual exercise sessions alter circulating hormones and cytokines in HIV-infected men
Wesley David Dudgeon1, Kenneth Doyle Phillips, John Larry Durstine
1Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 1300 Wheat Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. wes.dudgeon@citadel.edu
Abstract:
Exercise has the potential to impact disease by altering circulating anabolic and catabolic factors. It was the goal of this study to determine how different regimens of low-intensity and moderate-intensity exercise affected circulating levels of these anabolic and catabolic factors in HIV-infected men. Exercise-naive, HIV-infected men, medically cleared for study participation, were randomized into one of the following groups: a moderate-intensity group (MOD, who completed 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic training followed by 30 min of moderate-intensity resistance training; a low-intensity group (LOW), who completed 60 min of treadmill walking; or a control group (CON), who attended the clinic but participated in no activity. Blood and saliva samples were collected at selected time points before, during, and after each of the 3 required sessions. Compared with baseline, the MOD group (n=14) had a 135% increase in growth hormone (GH) (p<0.05) and a 34% decrease in cortisol (CORT) (p<0.05) at the post time point, a 31% increase in interleukin-6 (IL-6) (p<0.05) at 30-min post exercise, and a 23% increase in IL-6 (p<0.05) and a 13% decrease in soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNFrII) (p<0.05) at 60-min post exercise. The LOW (n=11) group had a 3.5% decrease in sTNFrII (<0.05) at 30-min post exercise compared with baseline and a 49% decrease (p<0.05) in GH at 60-min post exercise. The CON group (n=13) had a decrease in GH at 30-min (62%, p<0.05) and 60-min (61%, p<0.05) post exercise compared with baseline. The increase in GH from baseline to post was greater in the MOD group (p<0.05) and the decrease in CORT from pre to post was greater in the MOD group (p<0.05) than in the other groups. These data suggest that individual sessions of both low-intensity and moderate-intensity exercise can alter circulating anabolic and catabolic factors in HIV-infected men. The changes in the MOD group present potential mechanisms for the increases in lean tissue mass seen with resistance exercise training.
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