Resistance training, also known as strength training or weightlifting, has been shown to have numerous cellular benefits for older adults. Aging and related diseases are associated with changes in oxidative status and low-grade inflammation, as well as a decreased unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). UPR is a functional mechanism that cells use to protect themselves from ER stress.
Researchers looked at these proteins in elderly people’s peripheral blood mononuclear cells and used computer simulation to predict the key proteins associated with these biomolecules that underpin physiological adaptations to exercise. They took blood samples five to six days before and after the training period and looked for oxidative stress biomarkers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The study advances research by helping to elucidate the benefits of exercise in this population.
Aging is characterized by a balance of oxidants and antioxidants, low-grade inflammation, and a protein response at the cellular level, which is responsible for many health problems.
Exercise has been shown to regulate the inflammatory response, balance oxidants like free radicals that accumulate in cells and damage DNA, and improve the process by which cells protect themselves from these stressors. Resistance training is also recommended for older adults to help maintain muscle, flexibility, and balance.
Regular physical activity is suggested to be an effective intervention in improving age-related diseases such as osteoporosis, sarcopenia or muscle loss and dynapenia or loss of muscle strength, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes.
Chun-Jung Huang
Aging and related diseases are associated with changes in oxidative status and low-grade inflammation, as well as a decreased unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). UPR is a functional mechanism that cells use to protect themselves from ER stress caused by the accumulation of unfolded/misfolded proteins.
The mitochondrial heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) group of proteins has been linked to the aging process and has been shown to play a protective role in the ability of cells to remain active and healthy. There is currently little research into the effects of resistance training on the expression of HSP60 and Klotho, two genes involved in the aging process in mammals.
A new study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University, in collaboration with the University of León in Spain, examined whether an eight-week resistance training program would modulate the oxidative status, the UPR activation and key inflammatory pathways as well as their relationships with HSP60 and Klotho proteins.
Researchers examined these proteins in elderly people’s peripheral blood mononuclear cells for the study. Furthermore, they used computer simulation to predict the key proteins associated with these biomolecules, which are responsible for physiological adaptations to exercise. In young subjects who were included for basal assessments, they collected blood samples five to six days before and after the training period, as well as just before the training intervention. In addition, researchers looked at oxidative stress biomarkers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
The study’s findings, which were published in the journal Antioxidants, showed that the levels of inflammatory proteins (pIRAK1, TLR4, and TRAF6), as well as different redox balance markers (catalase, GSH, LP, NRF2, SOD1, and SOD2) remained unchanged with training. Importantly, when compared to trained elderly subjects, untrained elderly subjects had a significantly lower pIRE1/IRE1 ratio. A gene ontology analysis confirmed this finding, revealing that endoplasmic reticulum stress is a key mechanism modulated by IRE1.
Furthermore, the analysis did not reveal the training effect on HSP60 and Klotho expression or their relationships with other outcome variables. Despite the inclusion of elderly male and female subjects in the training program, researchers found no sex effects in the study. These findings might partially support the modulatory effect of resistance training on the endoplasmic reticulum in the elderly.
“Regular physical activity is suggested to be an effective intervention in improving age-related diseases such as osteoporosis, sarcopenia or muscle loss and dynapenia or loss of muscle strength, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes,” said Chun-Jung “Phil” Huang, Ph.D., co-author and a professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion within FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “Although the beneficial effects of regular physical exercise to alleviate inflammation and oxidative stress are well-established, the processes of these physiological adaptations with regard to protein folding or UPR remains to be explored. That is why we used a systems biology approach for our study.”
The study’s resistance training protocol included 16 sessions spread out over eight weeks (two sessions per week), with a minimum of 48 hours between sessions. The workout began with a 10-minute warm-up on a cycle ergometer. The exercise device was then used to perform eight different resistance exercises (leg press, ankle extension, bench press, leg extension, bicep curl, pec deck, high pulley traction, and dumbbell lateral lift). Participants completed three sets of 12-8-12 repetitions for each exercise. Each repetition was followed by a two-to-three-minute rest, and each exercise was followed by a three-minute rest.
