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Conducting Maximal and Submaximal Endurance Exercise Testing to Measure Physiological and Biological Responses to Acute Exercise in Humans
Published on: October 17, 2018
Endurance Training Attenuates Acute Exercise-Induced Monocyte Transcriptomic Responses in Adolescents: Sex-Specific
Abel Plaza-Florido1, Fadia Haddad1, Dan M Cooper1,2
1Research Center for Exercise Medicine and Sleep/Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|August 3, 2026
Summary
Acute exercise significantly impacts circulating monocytes differently in adolescent males and females. Endurance training substantially reduces these sex-specific immune responses, benefiting vascular and cardiovascular health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Immunology
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Circulating monocytes are key players in atherogenesis and vascular dysfunction.
- Cardiovascular disease origins in youth differ between sexes, impacting long-term health.
- Understanding sex-specific immune responses in adolescents is crucial for preventative strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sex differences in monocyte transcriptomic responses to acute exercise in adolescents.
- To determine the impact of endurance training on these exercise-induced immune responses.
- To identify pathways modulated by exercise in monocytes relevant to cardiovascular health.
Main Methods:
- Adolescents (14-17 years) underwent acute exercise before and after an 8-week endurance training program.
- Whole-blood transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on isolated peripheral blood monocytes.
- Differential gene expression and pathway analyses were conducted to compare responses between sexes and training states.
Main Results:
- Pre-training, females exhibited a substantially greater monocyte transcriptomic response to acute exercise than males.
- Pathway analysis revealed sex-specific responses: males showed vascular function pathways, females showed adipose tissue and oxidative metabolism pathways.
- Post-training, acute exercise responses were markedly attenuated in both sexes, with a ~98% reduction in females and ~70% in males.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent monocyte responses to acute exercise are sex-specific.
- Endurance exercise training significantly alters immune transcriptional responsiveness in monocytes.
- These adaptations suggest exercise positively impacts pathways relevant to vascular and cardiovascular health in youth.
