Exercise training blunts oxidative stress in sickle cell trait carriers

Chirico EN, Martin C, Faes C, Feasson L, Oyono-Enguelle S, Aufradet E, Dubouchaud H, Francina A, Canet-Soulas E, Thiriet P, Messonnier L, Pialoux V. Exercise training blunts oxidative stress in sickle cell trait carriers. J Appl Physiol 112: 1445-1453, 2012. First published February 9, 2012; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01452.2011.-The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of exercise training on oxidative stress in sickle cell trait carriers. Plasma levels of oxidative stress [advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), protein carbonyl, malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitrotyrosine], antioxidant markers [catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD)], and nitrite and nitrate (NOx) were assessed at baseline, immediately following a maximal exercise test (T-ex), and during recovery (T-1h, T-2h, T-24h) in trained (T: 8 h/wk minimum) and untrained (U: no regular physical activity) sickle cell trait (SCT) carriers or control (CON) subjects (T-SCT, n = 10; U-SCT, n = 8; T-CON, n = 11; and U-CON, n = 11; age: 23.5 +/- 2.2 yr). The trained subjects had higher SOD activities (7.6 +/- 5.4 vs. 5.2 +/- 2.1 U/ml, P = 0.016) and lower levels of AOPP (142 +/- 102 vs. 177 +/- 102 mu M, P = 0.028) and protein carbonyl (82.1 +/- 26.0 vs. 107.3 +/- 30.6 nm/ml, P = 0.010) than the untrained subjects in response to exercise. In response to exercise, U-SCT had a higher level of AOPP (224 +/- 130 vs. 174 +/- 121 mu M, P = 0.012), nitrotyrosine (127 +/- 29.1 vs. 70.6 +/- 46.6 nM, P = 0.003), and protein carbonyl (114 +/- 34.0 vs. 86.9 +/- 26.8 nm/ml, P = 0.006) compared with T-SCT. T-SCT had a higher SOD activity (8.50 +/- 7.2 vs. 4.30 +/- 2.5 U/ml, P = 0.002) and NOx (28.8 +/- 11.4 vs. 14.6 +/- 7.0 mu mol.l(-1).min(-1), P = 0.003) in response to exercise than U-SCT. Our data indicate that the overall oxidative stress and nitric oxide response is improved in exercise-trained SCT carriers compared with their untrained counterparts. These results suggest that physical activity could be a viable method of controlling the oxidative stress. This could have a beneficial impact because of its involvement in endothelial dysfunction and subsequent vascular impairment in hemoglobin S carriers.