Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 76, Issue 3 1172-1175, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society
Sex as a determining factor in the effect of exercise on in vivo autoimmune response adjuvant arthritis
A. Ferry, C. Le Page and M. Rieu
Laboratoire de Physiologie des Adaptations, Faculte de Medecine Cochin-Port Royal, Universite Paris V, France.
The present study was conducted to examine the effect of physical exercise
on the development of adjuvant arthritis (AA), an animal model of the human
rheumatoid arthritis, which is a T-cell-dependent autoimmune response. AA
was inducted on day 0 in 8-wk-old Lewis rats of both sexes. Between
postinjection days 1 and 12, two groups of rats (male and female) were
trained on a treadmill every day (45-120 min/day and 15-30 m/min) before
the onset of arthritic disease. Trained female (n = 27) and male (n = 22)
rats and control female (n = 29) and male (n = 17) rats were observed every
2 days for the following clinical signs of AA: number of arthritic joints
(swelling and redness), paw thickness, and weight gain during the disease.
The results show that the incidence of arthritis (% of arthritic rats) was
significantly higher in trained female rats (74%; P < 0.03) and
significantly lower in trained male rats (27%; P < 0.05) compared with
control rats of both sexes (female, 45%; male, 59%). There was no
difference in the severity and development of the disease between trained
rats and control rats of both sexes (P > 0.05). The present study
indicates that the effect of exercise on the incidence of AA, an in vivo
autoimmune response, depends on the sex of the animal.
