Introduction
Regular physical exercise contributes to reducing the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD).1 Aerobic exercises are associated with beneficial changes in the profile of circulating lipids and lipoproteins,2 body weight,3 blood pressure,4 insulin sensitivity5 and coagulation parameters.6 It has been reported in the literature that the benefits are proportional to the intensity of the exercise,7 ,8 which is determined according to the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) that represents the gold standard in exercise prescription. According to the American College of Sport Medicine, exercise performed at approximately 50–70% of the VO2max is classified as moderate exercise, and exercise performed between 70% and 85% of the VO2max is considered high-intensity exercise.9 The practice of moderate exercise training is associated with increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and a reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol and triacylglycerol (TAG).7 ,10 Lipids are considered to be one of the most important fuel sources during moderate-intensity exercise.11 ,12 After a session of prolonged and exhaustive exercise, such as observed in a marathon, there are significant changes in lipid profile, particularly the susceptibility of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) to oxidation.8 It is accepted that oxidised LDL (oxLDL) is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis.13
The oxidative hypothesis related to CAD development has been widely discussed, because many atherogenic effects have been attributed to oxidative stress.7 In spite of the large quantity of free radicals generated in response to increased oxygen consumption, especially during aerobic exercise, the organism is able to activate adequate antioxidant responses to prevent oxidative damage in tissues, especially in moderate intensity.14 ,15 However, in exhaustive exercise, the excessive production of free radicals could favour the oxidation of several molecules,16 including LDL-C,17 and cause tissue damage if the antioxidant mechanism is insufficient. Furthermore, it is important to emphasise that a marathon training schedule includes running long distances (between 15 to 25 km, which corresponds to a half-marathon), 2–3 times a week. According to Child et al18 and Briviba et al,19 athletes come into an oxidative stress state after a half-marathon. So, during the training, the athlete repeatedly induces an elevation on oxidative stress state. Marzatico et al20 showed that marathon runners had higher levels of malondialdehyde, conjugated dienes and superoxide dismutase, at rest, than did sedentary controls. Thus, presence of oxidative stress state in marathon runners is not an isolated fact, but a chronic feature.
In addition to antioxidant control, autoantibodies that recognise oxidised LDL (anti-oxLDL), which could be detected in plasma from healthy subjects as well, have been associated with the development of atherosclerosis that can trigger a CAD.21 ,22 Whereas the IgG subtype anti-oxLDL autoantibody is correlated with the development of atheromatosis,22 the IgM isotype demonstrates an atheroprotective function.23 Anti-oxLDL are autoantibodies or natural antibodies, usually defined as immunoglobulins, which are produced in the absence of any exogenous antigenic stimulation,24 by a subset of lymphocytes known as B1 or B CD5+ cells, which are highly reactive against autoantigens.25 These antibodies demonstrate several crucial functions not only as the first line of defence against pathogenic microorganisms by binding to a carbon group in the membrane of pathogens and inducing complement activation, but they also play a role in the recognition and removal of senescent cells, cell debris and other self-antigens.26
In this study, the effect of a marathon race on oxidative stress and the mechanisms of control of this stress were determined in athletes, before and after the race. We evaluated the plasma lipid profile and serum levels of oxLDL, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and autoantibodies (IgM and IgG) specific to oxLDL in the marathon runners.