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Published on: January 16, 2015
Exercise Training Reverses Extrapulmonary Impairments in Smoke-exposed Mice
T Scott Bowen1, Lars Aakerøy, Sophia Eisenkolb
11Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Leipzig University-Heart Center, Leipzig, GERMANY; 2Faculty of Medicine, Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, K.G. Jebsen Center of Exercise in Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NORWAY; and 3Department of Thoracic Medicine, Clinic of Thoracic and Occupational Medicine, St. Olav's University Hospital, Trondheim, NORWAY.
Cigarette smoking harms the heart, endothelium, and diaphragm before causing lung damage. High-intensity exercise training can reverse these harmful effects, improving exercise capacity and overall health.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Cigarette smoking is a primary risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema.
- Extrapulmonary effects of smoke exposure preceding lung damage are not well understood.
- Data on non-pharmacological interventions like exercise training for smoking-related conditions are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extrapulmonary effects of cigarette smoke exposure.
- To determine the impact of high-intensity exercise training on these effects.
- To assess functional and molecular alterations in various organs and tissues.
Main Methods:
- Mice were divided into control, smoking, and smoking with exercise groups.
- Exposure involved 20 weeks of whole-body cigarette smoke.
- Measurements included exercise capacity, lung histology, cardiac and skeletal muscle function, and mitochondrial respiration.
Main Results:
- Smoking reduced body weight and exercise capacity, and impaired heart, endothelium, and diaphragm function.
- These impairments occurred without overt lung destruction.
- Exercise training attenuated or reversed smoking-induced functional deficits and molecular changes in the diaphragm.
Conclusions:
- Prolonged smoking causes extrapulmonary functional impairments before emphysema develops.
- High-intensity exercise training effectively reverses these smoke-induced impairments.
- Exercise is a potential non-pharmacological intervention for mitigating smoking's systemic effects.
