Fuminori Kimura

Acupuncture and responses of immunologic and endocrine markers during competition

INTRODUCTION Acupuncture is used to modulate the physical well-being of athletes in Asian countries. However, there is little information on the immediate effects of acupuncture treatment on physiological or psychological responses to exercise. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of acupuncture treatment on the physical well-being of elite female soccer players during a competition period. METHODS Subjects were divided into two groups: those who received acupuncture treatment (18.1 +/- 2.3 yr [+/-SD], N = 9) and a control group (17.7 +/- 2.8 yr, N = 12). In the treatment group, acupuncture stimulus was applied at LI 4 (Goukoku), ST 36 (Ashi-sanri) for 20 min, and ST 6 (Kyosya), LU 6 (Ko-sai) points for 15 min 4 h after the game every night during the competition period. The measured parameters included salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) level, cortisol level in saliva, subjective rating of physical well-being, and profile of mood states (POMS). RESULTS The following were the main results: 1). Exercise-induced decrease of salivary SIgA and increase of salivary cortisol were inhibited by acupuncture. 2). Acupuncture improved subjective rating of muscle tension and fatigue. 3). The POMS score was modulated by acupuncture. CONCLUSION These results support the effectiveness of acupuncture for physical and mental well-being of athletes.

Reducing exercise-induced muscular injury in kendo athletes with supplementation of coenzyme Q10

Intensive physical exercise may cause muscular injury and increase oxidative stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an antioxidant, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), on muscular injury and oxidative stress during exercise training. Eighteen male students, all elite Japanese kendo athletes, were randomly assigned to either a CoQ10 group (n 10) or a placebo group (n 8) in a double-blind manner. Subjects in the CoQ10 group took 300 mg CoQ10 per d for 20 d, while subjects in the placebo group took the same dosage of a placebo. All subjects practised kendo 5.5 h per d for 6 d during the experimental period. Blood samples were taken 2 weeks before, during (1 d, 3 d, 5 d) and 1 week after the training. Serum creatine kinase (CK) activity and myoglobin (Mb) concentration significantly increased in both groups (at 3 d and 5 d). Serum CK (at 3 d), Mb (at 3 d) and lipid peroxide (at 3 d and 5 d) of the CoQ10 group were lower than those of the placebo group. The leucocyte counts in the placebo group significantly increased (at 3 d) and neutrophils significantly increased in both groups (at 3 d and 5 d). Serum scavenging activity against superoxide anion did not change in either group. These results indicate that CoQ10 supplementation reduced exercise-induced muscular injury in athletes.

A rat model of saliva secretory immunoglobulin: a suppression caused by intense exercise

We aimed to develop a valid model of immunosuppression induced by intense exercise in rats. Rats were divided into three groups. In the rest (Rest) group, saliva was collected from resting rats on 4 consecutive days. In the exercise (Ex) group, rats ran on a treadmill untill exhaustion (exercise time: 60.0 ± 3.7 min), and their saliva was collected before and after exercise; the salivary glands were removed after exercise. In the control (Con) group, saliva collection and gland removal were also performed, but the rats did not exercise. Secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) concentrations in saliva and polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) mRNA expression in the glands were measured. There was no significant change in SIgA concentration in the Rest group over 4 days. In the Ex group, SIgA concentration decreased significantly after exercise compared with before, whereas there was no significant change in the Con group. The expression of pIgR mRNA was significantly lower in the Ex group post‐exercise than in the Con group. Our procedure for saliva collection appeared suitable, and the exercise‐induced SIgA suppression was probably caused by a decline in pIgR mRNA expression. We propose to use this reproducible and reliable rat model of exercise‐induced SIgA suppression in future studies.

Eccentric muscle contractions induce greater oxidative stress than concentric contractions in skeletal muscle

The purpose of this study was to examine oxidative stress in skeletal muscle after eccentric and concentric muscle contractions. Eight-week-old Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice (n = 90) were divided into 3 groups: eccentric muscle contraction group (ECC, n = 42), concentric muscle contraction group (CON, n = 42), and control group (pre, n = 6). The tibialis anterior muscle was stimulated via the peroneal nerve to contract either eccentrically or concentrically. The tibialis anterior muscle was isolated before and 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 72, and 168 h after muscle contraction. Immediately after muscle contractions, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in skeletal muscle significantly increased (p < 0.05) in both ECC and CON conditions. However, in the ECC group alone, the TBARS level peaked at 12 and 72 h after the contractions. There was greater migration of mononuclear cells in ECC than in CON muscle. In addition, there was a correlation between TBARS in skeletal muscle and migration of mononuclear cells in ECC muscle (r = 0.773, p < 0.01), but this correlation was not apparent in CON muscle (r = 0.324, p = 0.12). The increased mononuclear cells may reflect inflammatory cells. These data suggest that eccentric muscle contraction induces greater oxidative stress in skeletal muscle, which may in turn be due to enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by migrating inflammatory cells.

Virus Activation and Immune Function During Intense Training in Rugby Football Players

Epidemiological studies suggest that highly trained athletes are more susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) compared with the general population. Upper respiratory symptoms (URS) often appear as either primary invasion of pathogenic organisms and/or reactivation of latent viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between EBV reactivation and the appearance of URS during intensive training in collegiate rugby football players. We evaluated EBV-DNA expression in saliva and examined the relationship between onset of URS and daily changes in EBV-DNA as well as secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) levels among 32 male collegiate rugby football players during a 1-month training camp. The EBV-DNA expression tended to be higher in subjects who exhibited sore throat (p=0.07) and cough (p=0.18) than that of those who had no symptoms, although their differences were not significant. The SIgA level was significantly lower 1 day before the EBV-DNA expression (p<0.05). The number of URS increased along with the EBV-DNA expression and decrease of SIgA levels. These results suggest that the appearance of URS is associated with reactivation of EBV and reduction of SIgA during training.

Tissue-specific distribution of breast-muscle-type and leg-muscle-type troponin T isoforms in birds

In order to show the tissue-specific distribution of troponin T (TnT) isoforms in avian skeletal muscles, their expression was examined by electrophoresis of the breast and leg muscles of seven avian species and immunoblotting with the antiserum against fast skeletal muscle TnT. It has been reported in the chicken that breast-muscle-type (B-type) and leg-muscle-type (L-type) TnT isoforms are expressed specifically in the adult breast and leg muscles, respectively. Their differential expression patterns were confirmed in all birds examined in this study. The expression of a segment encoded by the exon x series of TnT was also examined by immunoblotting with the antiserum against a synthetic peptide derived from the exon x3 sequence, because the segment has been shown to be included exclusively in the B-type, but not in the L-type TnT. The expression of the segment was found only in the breast muscle, but not in the leg muscle of all birds examined. TnT cDNA sequences from the duck breast and leg muscles were determined and showed that only B-type TnT had an exon x-related sequence, suggesting that the expression of B-type TnT containing the exon x-derived segment is conserved consistently in the birds.

Coenzyme Q10 supplementation downregulates the increase of monocytes expressing toll-like receptor 4 in response to 6-day intensive training in kendo athletes.

This study examined changes in toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4)-expressing monocytes and lymphocyte subpopulations in response to continuous intensive exercise training in athletes, as well as the effect of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on these changes. Eighteen male elite kendo athletes in Japan were randomly assigned to a CoQ10-supplementation group (n = 9) or a placebo-supplementation group (n = 9) using a double-blind method. Subjects in the CoQ10 group took 300 mg CoQ10 per day for 20 days. Subjects in the placebo group took the same dosage of placebo. All subjects practiced kendo 5.5 h per day for 6 consecutive days during the study period. Blood samples were collected 2 weeks before training, on the first day (day 1), third day (day 3), and fifth day of training (day 5), and 1 week after the training period (post-training) to ascertain TLR-4(+)/CD14(+) monocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), CD28(+)/CD4(+), CD28(+)/CD8(+), and CD56(+)/CD3(-) cells) using flow cytometry analysis. The group × time interaction for TLR-4(+)/CD14(+) cells did not reach significance (p = 0.08). Within the CoQ10 group, the absolute number of TLR-4(+)/CD14(+) cells was significantly higher only at day 5. The placebo group showed a significant increase in the absolute number of TLR-4(+)/CD14(+) cells at day 3, day 5, and post-training (p < 0.05). There was no significant group × time interaction for any lymphocyte subpopulation. CD3(+), CD8(+), and CD56(+)/CD3(-) cells were significantly reduced at day 3 in both groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, CoQ10 supplementation might downregulate the increase of TLR-4-expressing monocytes in response to continuous strenuous exercise training in kendo athletes.

Immunohistochemical studies on regulation of alternative splicing of fast skeletal muscle troponin T: non-uniform distribution of the exon x3 epitope in a single muscle fiber.

Abstract. Troponin T (TnT) isoforms of chicken fast skeletal muscle are classified into two types, breast-muscle-type (B-type) and leg-muscle-type (L-type) isoforms. These isoforms are produced from a single gene by differential alternative splicing of pre-mRNA. We investigated immunohistochemically the distribution of B-type TnT isoforms in chicken leg muscle (musculus biceps femoris), using anti-exon x3 that was raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to exon x3 and recognized B-type, but not the L-type, TnT isoforms. Mosaic patterns of immunostaining showing locally different expression of B-type TnT isoforms in a single fiber were observed among fibers, and the non-uniform distribution of the isoforms was also detected in sectioned fibers and myofibrils from the muscle. The results indicated that regulation of pre-mRNA splicing of fast skeletal muscle TnT was different not only among the muscle fibers but also within a single fiber, suggesting that heterogeneous myonuclei in regulation of alternative splicings occur in a single muscle fiber.