Effects of different exercise intensities on serum interleukins levels

The aim of this study was to analyze the acute and short-term effects of high and low exercise intensities on IL-6 and IL-10. Fifteen young healthy physically active males (21.0 ± 1.9 yrs) were submitted to 2 experimental trials (cross-over) with a 7-dais wash-out: high exercise intensity (80% VO2peak) and low exercise intensity (40% VO2peak) session. Blood samples were collected before exercise (baseline), immediately after exercise (acute), and two hours after the end of the exercise session (2 h). IL-6 and IL-10 circulating levels were determinate by ELISA. The results demonstrated an acute increase in IL-6 levels after high intensity compared to low intensity exercise (p < 0.05), however, IL-10 presented an acute decrease in response to low intensity exercise (p < 0.05). No effects were observed after 2 h of recovery from the session. Thus we conclude that acute exercise sessions are able to modulate the circulating levels of the studies cytokines, and the magnitudes of these changes are dependent of the exercise intensity.