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Running decreases knee intra-articular cytokine and cartilage oligomeric matrix concentrations: a pilot study

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European Journal of Applied Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Regular exercise protects against degenerative joint disorders, yet the mechanisms that underlie these benefits are poorly understood. Chronic, low-grade inflammation is widely implicated in the onset and progression of degenerative joint disease.

Purpose

To examine the effect of running on knee intra-articular and circulating markers of inflammation and cartilage turnover in healthy men and women.

Methods

Six recreational runners completed a running (30 min) and control (unloaded for 30 min) session in a counterbalanced order. Synovial fluid (SF) and serum samples were taken before and after each session. Cytokine concentration was measured in SF and serum using a multiplexed cytokine magnetic bead array. Ground reaction forces were measured during the run.

Results

There were no changes in serum or SF cytokine concentration in the control condition. The cytokine GM-CSF decreased from 10.7 ± 9.8 to 6.2 ± 5.9 pg/ml pre- to post-run (p = 0.03). IL-15 showed a trend for decreasing concentration pre- (6.7 ± 7.5 pg/ml) to post-run (4.3 ± 2.7 pg/ml) (p = 0.06). Changes in IL-15 concentration negatively correlated with the mean number of foot strikes during the run (r 2 = 0.67; p = 0.047). The control condition induced a decrease in serum COMP and an increase in SF COMP, while conversely the run induced an increase in serum COMP and a decrease in SF COMP. Changes in serum and SF COMP pre- to post-intervention were inversely correlated (r 2 = 0.47; p = 0.01).

Conclusions

Running appears to decrease knee intra-articular pro-inflammatory cytokine concentration and facilitates the movement of COMP from the joint space to the serum.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

COMP:

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein

GM-CSF:

Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor

GRF:

Ground reaction force

IFNa2:

Interferon alpha-2

IL-10:

Interleukin-10

IL-13:

Interleukin-13

IL-15:

Interleukin-15

IL-17:

Interleukin-17

IL-1ra:

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist

IL1b:

Interleukin-1 beta

IL1a:

Interleukin-1 alpha

IL-4:

Interleukin-4

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

IL-8:

Interleukin-8

IL-12p40:

Interluekin-12 subunit beta

IP-10:

Interferon-gamma-inducible protein-10

MCP-1:

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1

MIP-1a:

Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha

MIP-1b:

Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta

OA:

Osteoarthritis

RA:

Rheumatoid arthritis

SF:

Synovial fluid

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our research participants for their time and effort.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Exercise Sciences, Brigham Young University, 106 SFH, Provo, 84602, UT, USA

    Robert D. Hyldahl, Alyssa Evans, Sunku Kwon, Sarah T. Ridge, J. Ty Hopkins & Matthew K. Seeley

  2. Utah Valley Sports Medicine and Orthopedics, Provo, UT, USA

    Eric Robinson

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  1. Robert D. Hyldahl
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  2. Alyssa Evans
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  3. Sunku Kwon
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  4. Sarah T. Ridge
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  5. Eric Robinson
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  7. Matthew K. Seeley
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Correspondence to Robert D. Hyldahl.

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Communicated by Olivier Seynnes.

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Hyldahl, R.D., Evans, A., Kwon, S. et al. Running decreases knee intra-articular cytokine and cartilage oligomeric matrix concentrations: a pilot study. Eur J Appl Physiol 116, 2305–2314 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3474-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3474-z

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