The effect of long term and regular physical exercise on the balance of type I and type II T cytokines in the elderly
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that regular exercise training in elderly people affects the type 1/type 2 balance.Methods Nine elderly women who train by walking(63±1)a,VO_(2max)(32.2±1.0)mL.kg~(-1)·min~(-1)),12age-matched untrained women(63±1)a,VO_(2max)(27.8±0.9)mL·kg~(-1)·min~(-1),and nine young untrained women(26±1)a,VO_(2max)(37.8±1.3)mL·kg~(-1)·min~(-1)participated in the study.We measured interferon γ(IFN-γ),IL-2,and IL-4 in CD4+ and CD8+T cells,to compare type 1 and type 2 T cells.Results the number of CD4+ cells expressing intracellular IFN-γ(CD4+//IFN-γcell) significantly higher in the elderly trained than in the young(P0.01).The number of CD8+/IL-2 cells was significantly higher in the elderly trained than in the elderly untrained(P0.05).The number of cells was significantly higher in the young than in the elderly untrained(P0.01).No significant differences were apparent in the IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio within CD4+ and CD8+ cells from the three groups.Conclusion These results might indicate that the effect of age on the balance of type 1/type 2 T cells was stronger than the effect of physical training.