Reduced thymic output in elite athletes
Open accessAbstract
Athletes undergoing intensive training schedules have chronic exposure to stress-induced hormones such as cortisol that can depress immune function. We compared the circulating levels of T cell receptor excision circles (TREC), a marker of recent thymic emigrants, as well as the levels of naïve and memory subsets in a group of elite endurance athletes and in controls. The athletes showed a reduction in absolute numbers of naïve T cells, particularly in CD4 T cells. In contrast, memory cells were increased. TREC levels in the athletes were significantly reduced compared to age-matched controls. Such changes resemble premature ageing of the T cell component of the immune system. Since thymic production of T cells naturally decline with age, these results raise the concern that prolonging high intensity exercise into the 4th decade of life may have deleterious consequences for athletes' health.
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Very large volumes of exercise elicit a pro-immunosenescence effect.
“Studies collecting resting blood samples from endurance athletes and from less-active controls (defined using self-reported physical activity level), suggest that very large volumes of exercise elicit a pro-immunosenescence effect.”
From Is immunosenescence influenced by our lifetime “dose” of exercise? (2016) · cites this paper as Prieto-Hinojosa et al. 2014
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Is immunosenescence influenced by our lifetime “dose” of exercise?
Turner, J. E. (2016) · Biogerontology · doi:10.1007/s10522-016-9642-z · Cited by 112 · see citing works
- Authors
- Prieto-Hinojosa, A., Knight, A., Compton, C., Gleeson, M., & Travers, P. J.
- Affiliations
- Anthony Nolan (GB)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- Loughborough University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Travers, Paul J.
- Venue
- Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-07
- Volume
- 39
- Pages
- 75-79
- ISSN
- 0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1997050115
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 3.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- dspace.lboro.ac.uk
- Licence
- Locations
- Brain Behavior and Immunity (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Loughborough University Institutional Repository (Loughborough University) (publishedVersion)
- Loughborough University Institutional Repository (Loughborough University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Loughborough University Research Repository (Loughborough University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- thymic output, endurance athletes, TREC, thymic emigration, naive T cells, memory T cells, CD4+ T cells, immunosenescence, cortisol, elite athletes
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Humans, T-Lymphocytes, Thymus Gland, Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte, Exercise, Young Adult, Athletes
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