Overreaching-induced oxidative stress, enhanced HSP72 expression, antioxidant and oxidative enzymes downregulation

Overreaching (OVR) is defined as the initial phase of overtraining syndrome and is known as a metabolic imbalance leading to short-term fatigue. Exercise increases reactive oxygen species production, which can oxidize intracellular structures impairing cell function and thus leads to OVR process. The aim of this work is to study the behavior of oxidative stress markers in subjects submitted to an OVR protocol. Thirty rats were divided in exercise and control group, and submitted to an 8-week-endurance training (ET) and a 3-week-OVR protocol. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs), reactive carbonylated derivatives (RCD), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT) and citrate synthase (CS) activities and stress protein HSP72 were measured in soleus (SO), extensor digital longus (EDL) and semitendinuous (ST) muscles. ET induced significant enhancement (P < 0.05) in CS, GR, CAT, TBARs, RCD and HSP72 in SO, EDL and ST. OVR induced higher levels (P < 0.05) of TBARs, RCD and HSP72 compared with ET only in SO, while in EDL and ST all measured parameters ranged at same levels reached during ET. We concluded that stress-induced OVR protocol is fiber type dependent, the SO muscle fiber type I being the most affected by this treatment.