Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 77, Issue 5 2219-2223, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society
Vitamin E does not prevent exercise-induced increase in pulmonary clearance
A. M. Lorino, M. Paul, L. Cocea, M. Scherrer-Crosbie, E. Dahan, M. Meignan and G. Atlan
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale Unite 296, Departement de Physiologie, Creteil, France.
It has been observed that sustained exercise results in a prolonged
increase in alveolar epithelial permeability, as assessed by the pulmonary
clearance rate of aerosolized 99mTc-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetate
(Lorino et al. J. Appl. Physiol. 67: 2055-2059, 1989). The involvement of
lipid peroxidation in this increased permeability was tested in seven
nonsmoking volunteers by comparing the exercise-induced increases in
pulmonary 99mTc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetate clearance before and after a
3-wk supplementation with oral vitamin E (1,000 IU/day), according to a
protocol designed as a single-blind crossover study. The 60-min exercise
was performed on a treadmill at a constant load corresponding to 80% of
maximal O2 uptake. Administration of vitamin E, a very important
antioxidant, did not reduce the exercise-induced increase in lung
clearance, suggesting that the exercise-induced increase in lung epithelial
permeability does not primarily result from the occurrence of lipid
peroxidation in the alveolar membrane. This result thus corroborates the
hypothesis of an alteration of the intercellular tight junctions due to the
mechanical effects of hyperventilation.
