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Effects of non-fatiguing respiratory muscle loading induced by expiratory flow limitation during strenuous incremental cycle exercise on metabolic stress and circulating natural killer cells

  • Integrative Physiology
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Abstract

Exercise induces release of cytokines and increase of circulating natural killers (NK) lymphocyte during strong activation of respiratory muscles. We hypothesised that non-fatiguing respiratory muscle loading during exercise causes an increase in NK cells and in metabolic stress indices. Heart rate (HR), ventilation (VE), oesophageal pressure (Pes), oxygen consumption (VO2), dyspnoea and leg effort were measured in eight healthy humans (five men and three women, average age of 31 ± 4 years and body weight of 68 ± 10 kg), performing an incremental exercise testing on a cycle ergometer under control condition and expiratory flow limitation (FL) achieved by putting a Starling resistor. Blood samples were obtained at baseline, at peak of exercise and at iso-workload corresponding to that reached at the peak of FL exercise during control exercise. Diaphragmatic fatigue was evaluated by measuring the tension time index of the diaphragm. Respiratory muscle overloading caused an earlier interruption of exercise. Diaphragmatic fatigue did not occur in the two conditions. At peak of flow-limited exercise compared to iso-workload, HR, peak inspiratory and expiratory Pes, NK cells and norepinephrine were significantly higher. The number of NK cells was significantly related to ΔPes (i.e. difference between the most and the less negative Pes) and plasmatic catecholamines. Loading of respiratory muscles is able to cause an increase of NK cells provided that activation of respiratory muscles is intense enough to induce a significant metabolic stress.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Roberta Biagiotti and Maria G. Giudizi from the Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Clinical Immunology and Respiratory Diseases, University of Florence, Italy, for their technical assistance in processing blood samples, characterising lymphocyte subpopulations, and quantifying cytokine, plasmatic catecholamines and muscle enzymes.

Supported by the programme “Investissement d’Avenir ANR-10-AIHU 06 of the French Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, INSERM, UMRS_1158 Neurophysiologie respiratoire expérimentale et clinique, Paris, France

    Camille Rolland-Debord, Capucine Morelot-Panzini, Thomas Similowski & Pierantonio Laveneziana

  2. Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière Charles Foix, Département “R3S”, Pôle PRAGUES, Service de Pneumologie et Réanimation Médicale, Paris, France

    Camille Rolland-Debord, Capucine Morelot-Panzini & Thomas Similowski

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Clinical Immunology and Respiratory Diseases, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Roberto Duranti & Pierantonio Laveneziana

  4. Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière Charles Foix, Département “R3S”, Pôle PRAGUES, Service des Explorations Fonctionnelles de la Respiration, de l’Exercice et de la Dyspnée, Paris, France

    Pierantonio Laveneziana

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  1. Camille Rolland-Debord
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Correspondence to Pierantonio Laveneziana.

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The research was carried out in accordance with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was approved by the local ethics committee, and all the subjects signed written, informed consent after a detailed description of the protocol at the time of their first assessment.

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Rolland-Debord, C., Morelot-Panzini, C., Similowski, T. et al. Effects of non-fatiguing respiratory muscle loading induced by expiratory flow limitation during strenuous incremental cycle exercise on metabolic stress and circulating natural killer cells. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 469, 1533–1544 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-017-2070-3

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