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Sclerostin and bone turnover markers response to cycling and running at the same moderate-to-vigorous exercise intensity in healthy men

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Abstract

Background

Recreational cycling is a popular activity which stimulates and improves cardiovascular fitness. The corresponding benefits for bone are unclear.

Purpose

This study examined the effect of running (high-impact) vs. cycling (low-impact), at the same moderate-to-vigorous exercise intensity, on markers of bone formation (N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen, PINP) and bone resorption (C-telopeptide of type I collagen, CTX-1), a non-collagenous bone remodeling marker (osteocalcin), as well as bone-modulating factors, including parathyroid hormone (PTH), irisin (myokine) and sclerostin (osteokine).

Methods

Thirteen healthy men (23.7 ± 1.0 y) performed two progressive exercise tests to exhaustion (peak VO2) on a cycle ergometer (CE) and on a treadmill (TM). On subsequent separate days, in randomized order, participants performed 30-min continuous running or cycling at 70% heart rate reserve (HRR). Blood was drawn before, immediately post- and 1 h into recovery.

Results

PTH transiently increased (CE, 51.7%; TM, 50.6%) immediately after exercise in both exercise modes. Sclerostin levels increased following running only (27.7%). Irisin increased following both running and cycling. In both exercise modes, CTX-1 decreased immediately after exercise, with no significant change in PINP and osteocalcin.

Conclusion

At the same moderate-to-vigorous exercise intensity, running appears to result in a greater transient sclerostin response compared with cycling, while the responses of bone markers, PTH and irisin are similar. The longer-term implications of this differential bone response need to be further examined.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the participants for participating in our study, and the study coordinator (Pearl Lynne Law), the Human Performance Laboratory technician (Hoang Pham), UCI ICTS nurses and the Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center Senior Biostatistician (Annamarie Stehli) for their assistance with different parts of the study.

Funding

This study was funded by NIH U01-TR002004 and PERC Systems Biology Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, 101 Academy, Suite 150, Irvine, CA, 92617, USA

    N. Dror, J. Carbone, F. Haddad & S. Radom-Aizik

  2. Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

    B. Falk & P. Klentrou

  3. Centre for Bone and Muscle Health, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

    B. Falk & P. Klentrou

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  1. N. Dror
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  6. S. Radom-Aizik
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Correspondence to S. Radom-Aizik.

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This study was approved by Institutional Review Board at the University of California Irvine and carried out in accordance with the principles set out in the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Dror, N., Carbone, J., Haddad, F. et al. Sclerostin and bone turnover markers response to cycling and running at the same moderate-to-vigorous exercise intensity in healthy men. J Endocrinol Invest 45, 391–397 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-021-01659-5

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