Serum Calprotectin, a Marker of Neutrophil Activation, and Other Mediators of Inflammation in Response to Various Types of Extreme Physical Exertion in Healthy Volunteers

Purpose While extreme physical exertion is known to induce changes in the status of inflammation comparisons of the responses for various mediators of inflammation after acute bouts of high-intensity exercise have been limited. Subjects and Methods We examined the responses in serum levels of novel inflammatory proteins, calprotectin, suPAR, CD163, and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in 12 physically active volunteers (10 men, 2 women, mean age 37±14 years) before and after completing various types of extreme physical exertion (marathon run, half-marathon run or 24-h cross-country skiing). For comparisons, the levels of the biomarkers were also measured at rest in 30 healthy controls (25 men, 5 women, mean age 42 ± 12 years) with low or sedentary activity. Results Extreme physical exertion induced significant increases in serum calprotectin (p < 0.0005), suPAR (p < 0.01), CD163 (p < 0.05), IL-6 (p < 0.0005), IL-8 (p < 0.01) and IL-10 (p < 0.0005) (pre- vs 3h-post-exercise). These responses were found to normalize within 48 hours. While the increases in blood leukocytes were of similar magnitude following the different types of exercise, markedly more pronounced responses occurred in serum TNF-α (p < 0.01), IL-8 (p < 0.01) and CD163 (p < 0.05) in those with more intense activity. In 3-h post-exercise samples significant correlations were observed between serum calprotectin and IL-6 (rs = 0.720, p < 0.01), IL-10 (rs = 0.615, p < 0.05), TNF-α (rs = 0.594, p < 0.05), suPAR (rs = 0.587, p < 0.05) and blood leukocytes (rs = 0.762, p < 0.01). Conclusion The present results suggest distinct exercise-intensity dependent changes in mediators of inflammation (including calprotectin, suPAR and CD163) following extreme physical exertion. Our findings indicate that there is a major reversible impact of high-intensity physical exertion on the status of inflammation.