Heat stress, cytokines, and the immune response to exercise.

To examine the effect of exercise and heat stress on cytokine production, seven males (77 +/- 2 kg; VO(2peak) = 4.7 +/- 0.4 L min(-1)) completed two (15 degrees C; CON or 35 degrees C; HEAT) 90 min cycling trials at 70% VO(2peak).

Skeletal muscle interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha release in healthy subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes at rest and during exercise.

To examine the influence of type 2 diabetes on cytokine release from the leg at rest and during exercise, 9 male type 2 diabetics (D) and 8 age-, gender-, Vo2peak-, weight- and body mass index (BMI)-matched control subjects (C) were studied before and after 25 minutes of supine bicycle exercise at 60% Vo2peak. Blood samples were obtained from a femoral artery and vein from 1 limb, and plasma was analyzed for glucose and the cytokines, interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. Leg blood flow (LBF) was measured by thermodilution in the femoral vein, and net leg IL-6, TNF-alpha, and glucose balance were calculated as the product of LBF and femoral arteriovenous (fa-v) glucose, IL-6, and TNF-alpha difference.

Glucose ingestion attenuates interleukin-6 release from contracting skeletal muscle in humans.

To examine whether glucose ingestion during exercise affects the release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) from the contracting limb, seven men performed 120 min of semi-recumbent cycling on two occasions while ingesting either 250 ml of a 6.4 % carbohydrate (GLU trial) or sweet placebo (CON trial) beverage at the onset of, and at 15 min intervals throughout, exercise. Muscle biopsies obtained before and immediately after exercise were analysed for glycogen and IL-6 mRNA expression.

Exercise increases nuclear AMPK alpha2 in human skeletal muscle.

An acute bout of exercise increases skeletal muscle glucose uptake, improves glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, and enhances muscle oxidative capacity. Recent studies have shown an association between these adaptations and the energy-sensing 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), the activity of which is increased in response to exercise. Activation of AMPK has been associated with enhanced expression of key metabolic proteins such as GLUT-4, hexokinase II (HKII), and mitochondrial enzymes, similar to exercise.

Exercise and IL-6 infusion inhibit endotoxin-induced TNF-alpha production in humans.

During "nondamaging" exercise, skeletal muscle markedly releases interleukin (IL)-6, and it has been suggested that one biological role of this phenomenon is to inhibit the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- alpha, which is known to cause pathogenesis such as insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. To test this hypothesis, we performed three experiments in which eight healthy males either rested (CON), rode a bicycle for 3 h (EX), or were infused with recombinant human IL-6 (rhIL-6) for 3 h while they rested. After 2.