Abstract
Purpose
Exertional heat stress can cause damage to the intestinal epithelium and disrupt gastrointestinal barrier integrity, leading to microbial translocation (MT) linked to the development of heat stroke. This study aimed to assess age-related differences in markers of intestinal epithelial injury and MT following non-heat stress and high-heat stress exercise in healthy young and older men.
Methods
Markers of intestinal epithelial injury (intestinal fatty acid-binding protein—‘IFABP’) and MT (soluble cluster of differentiation 14—‘sCD14’; and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein—‘LBP’) were assessed in healthy young (18–30 y, n = 13) and older (50–70 y) men (n = 12). Blood samples were collected before, after 180 min of moderate-intensity (metabolic rate: 200 W/m2) walking and following 60 min recovery in either a non-heat stress [temperate: 21.9 °C, 35% relative humidity (RH)] or high-heat stress (hot: 41.4 °C, 35% RH) environment.
Results
There were no differences in IFABP and sCD14 between the young and older groups in the temperate condition, while LBP was greater in the older group (+ 0.66 ug/mL; + 0.08 to + 1.24 ug/mL). In the hot condition, the older group experienced greater increases in IFABP compared to the young group (+ 712 pg/mL/hr; + 269 to + 1154 pg/mL/hr). However, there were no clear between-group differences for sCD14 (+ 0.24 ug/mL/hr, − 0.22 to + 0.70 ug/mL/hr) or LBP (+ 0.86 ug/mL/hr, − 0.73 to + 2.46 ug/mL/hr).
Conclusion
While older men may experience greater intestinal epithelial injury following exercise in the heat; this did not lead to a greater magnitude of microbial translocation relative to their younger counterparts.
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Data availability
Deidentified participant data are available from the correspondingauthor (G.P.K.,gkenny@uottawa.ca) upon reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- CI:
-
Confidence interval
- EHS:
-
Exertional heat stroke
- GI:
-
Gastrointestinal
- iAUC:
-
Integrated area under the curve
- IFABP:
-
Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein
- LBP:
-
Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein
- MT:
-
Microbial translocation
- NF-κB:
-
Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells
- sCD14:
-
Soluble cluster of differentiation 14
- VO2max:
-
Maximal oxygen consumption
- WBSR:
-
Whole body sweat rate
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all members from the Human and Environmental Physiology Research Unit for their assistance with data collection. In particular, the authors would like to thank Brian J. Friesen for his assistance with data collection as well as Dr. Sean Notley with the design and development of the study. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Ronald J. Sigal and Dr. Pierre Boulay for their assistance with the assessment of the study participants.
Funding
This project was supported by the Government of Ontario (all funds held by G.P.K.). J.J.M. and K.E.K. were supported by Mitacs Accelerate and the Human and Environmental Physiology Research Unit. G.P.K. is supported by a University of Ottawa Research Chair.
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GPK, BJE, and JJM conceptualized and designed the research. KEK and JJM performed data collection. BJE, TRF, and NG-L performed the blood analysis. BJE, TRF, and NG-L performed statistical analysis and prepared figures. BJE drafted the manuscript. All authors interpreted the results. All authors edited, revised, and approved the final version. Data are available on request from the corresponding author.
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Lee, B.J., Flood, T.R., Galan-Lopez, N. et al. Changes in surrogate markers of intestinal epithelial injury and microbial translocation in young and older men during prolonged occupational heat stress in temperate and hot conditions. Eur J Appl Physiol 124, 1049–1062 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05329-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05329-7