Division of General Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2023 Oct 17;13(1):17671. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-44928-4.
Aging is the basis for several unfavorable conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In this sense, regular physical activity (regular PA) has been proven to delay cellular aging and prevent endothelial dysfunction related to CVDs. Despite numerous studies involving athletes, little is known about cellular and molecular mechanisms of regular PA among master athletes. The present study aimed at evaluating the effects of regular PA on local microcirculatory functions in elderly athletes as compared to age-matched sedentary controls. Moreover, molecular/epigenetic mechanisms (nitric oxide, oxidative stress, PGC-1α, SIRT1 and miR29) were also assessed. The results of the present study showed that regular PA significantly increased local blood flow in post-ischemia and post-heating conditions, as well as NO plasma concentrations, denoting a better endothelial function/microcirculatory efficiency. Moreover, athletes presented a greater plasma antioxidant and increased transcriptional levels of the metabolism regulator PGC-1α. Finally, regular PA enhanced plasma level of SIRT1 and miR29, suggested as epigenetic regulators of redox balance and cellular metabolism. In addition, stimulated local blood flow was directly related to plasma antioxidant capacity, and SIRT1 and miR29 levels. Overall, our data confirm the beneficial effects of regular PA on the cardiovascular profile in elderly athletes and shed light on molecular signals involved in the positive adaptations to exercise.
衰老是多种不利条件的基础，包括心血管疾病（CVD）。从这个意义上说，有规律的体育锻炼（定期 PA）已被证明可以延缓细胞衰老，预防与 CVD 相关的内皮功能障碍。尽管有许多涉及运动员的研究，但对于老年运动员的定期 PA 的细胞和分子机制知之甚少。本研究旨在评估与年龄匹配的久坐对照组相比，定期 PA 对老年运动员局部微循环功能的影响。此外，还评估了分子/表观遗传机制（一氧化氮、氧化应激、PGC-1α、SIRT1 和 miR29）。本研究的结果表明，定期 PA 显著增加了缺血后和加热后条件下的局部血流以及 NO 血浆浓度，表明内皮功能/微循环效率更好。此外，运动员的血浆抗氧化剂水平更高，代谢调节剂 PGC-1α 的转录水平增加。最后，定期 PA 增加了 SIRT1 和 miR29 的血浆水平，表明它们是氧化还原平衡和细胞代谢的表观遗传调节剂。此外，刺激局部血流与血浆抗氧化能力以及 SIRT1 和 miR29 水平直接相关。总的来说，我们的数据证实了定期 PA 对老年运动员心血管状况的有益影响，并揭示了与运动积极适应相关的分子信号。
