Abstract
Purpose
The extent to which hepcidin regulation after acute bouts of exercise is influenced by baseline (resting) concentrations of key iron parameters remains uncertain. This investigation explored the influence of selected iron parameters and 25-km race walk time on 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25 levels in international-level race walkers.
Methods
Twenty-four male race walkers completed a graded exercise test and a 25-km race-walk trial. Throughout the 25-km race-walk, venous blood samples were collected pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and at 3-h post-exercise. Blood was analysed for serum ferritin, serum iron, Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and hepcidin-25 concentration.
Results
IL-6 and hepcidin-25 increased (7.6- and 7.5-fold, respectively) in response to the 25-km race-walk trial (both p < 0.01). Significant individual relationships were evident between 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25, baseline serum ferritin and serum iron (r > 0.62; p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that these two iron parameters, in addition to post-exercise IL-6 concentration and 25-km race-walk time, accounted for ~77% of the variance in 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25 (p < 0.01). A median split by the cohort’s baseline serum ferritin concentration (LOW: 58.0 vs. HIGH: 101.8 µg/L; p < 0.01) showed a significant between group difference in the 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25 (LOW: 6.0 ± 3.6 vs. 11.3 ± 5.4 nM; p = 0.01), despite no differences in baseline serum iron, post-exercise IL-6, or 25-km race-walk time (all p > 0.05).
Conclusion
Despite exercise activating numerous hepcidin regulators, baseline iron status appears to play a dominant role in the regulation of hepcidin-25 in elite-level athletes subsequent to endurance exercise.
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Abbreviations
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- AIS:
-
Australian Institute of Sport
- CHO:
-
Carbohydrate
- CV:
-
Coefficient of variation
- GXT:
-
Graded exercise test
- IL-6:
-
Interleukin-6
- KO mice:
-
Knock-out mice
- V̇O2peak :
-
Peak aerobic capacity
- HIGH:
-
Serum ferritin top 50th percentile group
- LOW:
-
Serum ferritin bottom 50th percentile group
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
- WCX-TOF MS:
-
Weak cation exchange chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry
- WT mice:
-
Wild-type mice
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by a Program Grant from Australian Catholic University Research Fund (#201400800) and a Grant from the Australian Institute of Sport’s High-Performance Sport Research Fund. This work formed part of the Supernova study conducted at the Australian Institute of Sport.
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Communicated by Guido Ferretti.
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Peeling, P., McKay, A.K.A., Pyne, D.B. et al. Factors influencing the post-exercise hepcidin-25 response in elite athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol 117, 1233–1239 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3611-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3611-3