Exercise-induced changes to in vitro T-lymphocyte mitogen responses using CFSE

Carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinamidyl ester (CFSE) labeling of lymphocyte populations can provide unique insights into cell function at rest and with exercise, due to its ability to quantify cell division on an individual cell basis. This study aimed to characterize the effect of acute, intense exercise on T-lymphocyte function. Well-trained endurance runners completed 60 min of treadmill running at 95% of individual anaerobic threshold. Blood samples were collected before exercise; after 30 and 60 min of exercise; and after 30, 60, and 90 min of recovery. Isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells were labeled with CFSE and cultured with or without mitogen (phytohemagglutinin). After culture, cell suspensions were labeled with CD3 (allophycocyanin) and CD8 (phycoerythrin), and expansion rates and cell death rates were calculated for each sample, as well as mitosis rates for each cell generation. Exercise was associated with a 60% decrease in cell expansion in both CD4 and CD8 cell types from before exercise to midexercise (P < 0.05). The significant decrease in expansion rate in the midexercise samples for both cell types was mirrored by a 65% increase in cell death (P < 0.05) in both cell types at that sample point. Exercise had no effect on the mitosis rate of either CD4 or CD8 cells in any cell generation (generations 0-3). This study indicates that 1 h of intense exercise affects in vitro T-lymphocyte function. These data suggest, for the first time, that exercise decreases cell expansion rate via an increase in cell death of both CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes, rather than a decrease in mitosis.