Circulating Levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 in Healthy Adults: Changes after an Acute Aerobic Exercise and Association with Body Composition and Energy Metabolism

The most recent WHO recommendations about physical activity emphasise the importance of total exercise volume above the significance of the duration of each bout. This study examined whether acute aerobic exercise changes circulating levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 and if these changes are associated with body composition and energy metabolism. Healthy adult volunteers completed a 10 min walking-running exercise on a treadmill. Indirect calorimetry was used to determine their resting metabolic rate (RMR) and energy expenditure (EE) during the exercise. Pre-exercise levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 were similar in both sexes. There were positive correlations of pre-exercise IL-8 with body mass, waist circumference, and lean body mass in men and pre-exercise MCP-1 with RMR in women. The exercise led to an increase in IL-8 of 68% and a decrease in MCP-1 of 74% of participants. An increase in post-exercise IL-8 in men was associated with greater walking EE and a greater increase in walking EE. The increase in post-exercise MCP-1 was associated with a lower RMR and running EE in women. There are both sex and individual variations in changes in chemokine secretion in response to the same exercise situation and their associations with values of metabolic parameters.

Automated summary

This study examines the effects of acute aerobic exercise on the levels of circulating IL-8 and MCP-1, and their associations with body composition and energy metabolism. The results show that there are positive correlations between pre-exercise IL-8 and body mass, waist circumference, and lean body mass in men, and between pre-exercise MCP-1 and RMR in women. The exercise led to an increase in IL-8 and a decrease in MCP-1 levels. In men, the increase in post-exercise IL-8 is associated with higher walking energy expenditure, while in women, the increase in post-exercise MCP-1 is associated with lower RMR and running energy expenditure.