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Maximal exercise increases mucosal associated invariant T cell frequency and number in healthy young men

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Abstract

Purpose

Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells have properties of the innate and acquired immune systems. While the response to vigorous exercise has been established for most leukocytes, MAIT cells have not been investigated. Therefore, the purpose was to determine if MAIT cell lymphocytosis occurs with acute maximal aerobic exercise and if this response is influenced by exercise duration, cardiovascular fitness, or body composition.

Methods

Twenty healthy young males with moderate fitness levels performed an extended graded exercise test until volitional fatigue. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from venous blood obtained prior and immediately after exercise and were labeled to identify specific T cell populations using flow cytometry.

Results

The percentage of MAIT cells relative to total T cells significantly increased from 3.0 to 3.8% and absolute MAIT cell counts increased by 2.2-fold following maximal exercise. MAIT cell subpopulation proportions were unchanged with exercise. Within cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), MAIT cells consisted of 8% of these cells and this remained constant after exercise. MAIT cell counts and changes with exercise were not affected by body composition, VO2peak, or exercise duration.

Conclusions

Maximal exercise doubled MAIT cell numbers and showed preferential mobilization within total T cells but the response was not influenced by fitness levels, exercise duration, or body composition. These results suggest that acute exercise could be used to offset MAIT cell deficiencies observed with certain pathologies. MAIT cells also make up a substantial proportion of CTLs, which may have implications for cytotoxicity assays using these cells.

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Abbreviations

7-AAD:

7-Amino-actinomycin D

CTL:

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte

GXT:

Graded exercise test

HbA1C:

Glycated hemoglobin

MAIT cells:

Mucosal associated invariant T cell

PBMC:

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell

TCR:

T cell receptor

VO2peak :

Peak oxygen uptake

W:

Watts

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the volunteers for their involvement in this study and Ms. Shadney Que and Ms. Chantelle Blythe for their assistance in the laboratory.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Exercise and Sports Science, University of North Carolina, CB#8605, 315 Woollen Gym, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Erik D. Hanson & Eli Danson

  2. Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Active Living, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, 8001, Australia

    Erik D. Hanson, Jackson J. Fyfe, Nigel K. Stepto & Samy Sakkal

  3. Centre for Chronic Disease, College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, 8001, Australia

    Erik D. Hanson, Catriona V. Nguyen-Robertson & Samy Sakkal

  4. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia

    Jackson J. Fyfe

  5. Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Nigel K. Stepto

  6. Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, Victoria University, St. Albans, VIC, 3021, Australia

    Nigel K. Stepto

  7. Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    David B. Bartlett

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  1. Erik D. Hanson
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  2. Eli Danson
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Correspondence to Erik D. Hanson.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This work was supported by the Collaborative Research Network from the Department of Industry, Innovation, and Science of Australia.

Additional information

Communicated by Fabio Fischetti.

Electronic supplementary material

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421_2017_3704_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplemental Fig. 1 Immunofluorescence gating strategy for the identification of the proportion of (relative to the parent population) and the absolute numbers of MAIT cells with acute exercise. A) Gating of single PBMCs, B) the inclusion of CD45+ cells, C) identifying lymphocytes, and D) gating for T (CD3+) and the E) CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subpopulations. Subsequently, cells that express Vα7.2 and CD161 were determined from F) cytotoxic T lymphocytes CDLs (CD8+) and G) CD4. H) From the total T cell population (panel D), Vα7.2+CD161+ MAIT cells were identified and the G) MAIT cell subpopulations of CD4+ and CD8+ (PDF 145 kb)

Supplementary material 2 Flow Cytometer Layout and Antibody Details (DOCX 11 kb)

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Hanson, E.D., Danson, E., Nguyen-Robertson, C.V. et al. Maximal exercise increases mucosal associated invariant T cell frequency and number in healthy young men. Eur J Appl Physiol 117, 2159–2169 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3704-z

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