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Production of interleukin‐6 in contracting human skeletal muscles can account for the exercise‐induced increase in plasma interleukin‐6
Author(s) -
Steensberg Adam,
Hall Gerrit,
Osada Takuya,
Sacchetti Massimo,
Saltin Bengt,
Pedersen Bente Klarlund
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7793.2000.00237.x
Subject(s) - skeletal muscle , medicine , endocrinology , venous blood , chemistry , physical exercise , interleukin , leg muscle , cardiology , cytokine , physical medicine and rehabilitation
1 Plasma interleukin (IL)‐6 concentration is increased with exercise and it has been demonstrated that contracting muscles can produce IL‐ The question addressed in the present study was whether the IL‐6 production by contracting skeletal muscle is of such a magnitude that it can account for the IL‐6 accumulating in the blood. 2 This was studied in six healthy males, who performed one‐legged dynamic knee extensor exercise for 5 h at 25 W, which represented 40% of peak power output ( W max ). Arterial‐femoral venous (a‐fv) differences over the exercising and the resting leg were obtained before and every hour during the exercise. Leg blood flow was measured in parallel by the ultrasound Doppler technique. IL‐6 was measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). 3 Arterial plasma concentrations for IL‐6 increased 19‐fold compared to rest. The a‐fv difference for IL‐6 over the exercising leg followed the same pattern as did the net IL‐6 release. Over the resting leg, there was no significant a‐fv difference or net IL‐6 release. The work was produced by 2.5 kg of active muscle, which means that during the last 2 h of exercise, the median IL‐6 production was 6.8 ng min −1 (kg active muscle) −1 (range, 3.96‐9.69 ng min −1 kg −1 ). 4 The net IL‐6 release from the muscle over the last 2 h of exercise was 17‐fold higher than the elevation in arterial IL‐6 concentration and at 5 h of exercise the net release during 1 min was half of the IL‐6 content in the plasma. This indicates a very high turnover of IL‐6 during muscular exercise. We suggest that IL‐6 produced by skeletal contracting muscle contributes to the maintenance of glucose homeostasis during prolonged exercise.