Effect of physical exercise on the phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophages from Swiss mice

The influence of strenuous physical exercise (swimming until exhaustion) or physical training (swimming 90 min daily during 20 days) on different aspects of phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophages from Swiss mice was studied. The adherence capacity was not modified by strenuous or training exercise. The spontaneous mobility, chemotaxis, spontaneous attachment and ingestion of Candida albicans and of inert particles (latex beads) were also not modified by the strenuous physical activity, but increased significantly with training. The attachment and ingestion of opsonized C. albicans, as well as the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction in the absence (oxidative metabolism measure) or presence (microbicidal capacity measure) of ingested material (C. albicans with and without serum or latex beads), were increased by both the strenuous and the training physical exercises. Moreover, significantly higher values were found for training activity compared with those found for strenuous physical exercise. The advantageous effects of physical exercise in the phagocytic function of macrophages are discussed.