Decreased plasma glutamine level and cd4+ t cell number in response
to 8 weeks of anaerobic training.
Hack, Volker, Claus Weiss, Birgit Friedmann, Stefan Suttner, Michael
Schykowski, Natalie Erbe, Axel Benner, Peter Brtsch, and Wulf Drge.
Div. of Immunochemistry, German Cancer Research Institute, Div. of
Biostatistics, German Cancer Research Institute, Dept. of Sports
Medicine, University of Heidelberg, D-69115 Heidelberg
APStracts 4:0008E, 1997.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of plasma
amino acids and glutathione (GSH) on the absolute number of leukocyte
and lymphocyte subpopulations in response to different training
programs. Healthy untrained subjects were randomely assigned to an 8
week aerobic (AET) or anaerobic (ANT) exercise training program.
Absolute number of cell counts did not significantly change in AET,
while a decrease of CD4+ T cell counts (P ( 0.05), and a fall in
cells expressing CD45RA+ antigen (P ( 0.05), as well as a marked
increase in CD8+ T cell numbers (P ( 0.01) was noted in ANT at the
end of the training period compared to baseline values. Furthermore,
ANT demonstrated a marked rise (P ( 0.001) in plasma glutamate from
27.6 ( 2.8 to 49.8 ( 5.2 and a considerable reduction (P ( 0.001) of
the plasma glutamine pool from 713 ( 22 M to 601 ( 30 M after 8 weeks
of training. The decrease in glutamine showed a strong positive
correlation to the individual loss of CD4+ T cells (r = 0.67; P (
0.001). AET demonstrated a rise (P ( 0.05) in GSH from 20.7 ( 2.5 to
28.1 ( 1.5 nmol/mg protein at terminal examination. In conclusion,
our data indicate impairment of the number and activity of CD4+ T
cells in response to 8 weeks of ANT, which might be linked to
metabolic factors like glutamine.
Received 17 July 1996; accepted in final form 17 December 1996.
APS Manuscript Number E383-6.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Endocrinol. Metab.).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1997 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 5 February 1997