Physical exercise and oxidative stress biomarkers in the elderly_ Attività fisica e biomarcatori dello stress ossidativo nell’invecchiamento

Introduction: aging is regulated by a number of aging genes including sirtuins, linked to redox status and epigenetically controlled. Physical exercise, depending on intensity, type of training and duration, seems to modulate positively the redox state in aging. It was demonstrated an increase in susceptibility to oxidative stress by the depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH) and total glutathione (tGSH) levels in the muscles of aged animals. Moreover, physical activity, especially if moderate and regular, seems to activate adaptive mechanisms, reducing body's vulnerability to oxidative stress and improving systemic metabolic activities. Methods: this study is aimed to evaluate the effects of regular exercise (3 times/week for 2 months) on the levels of radical species (d-ROM test), thiol groups (SHp test), plasma antioxidant capacity (BAPtest), 8-OH-guanosine (COMET test) and some redox-related proteins (HSP27, HSP70, Sirt1 and 2) in 40 healthy elderly subjects, aged from 65 to 74 years. In addition, plasma enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) were evaluated. Results: the enrolled subjects showed oxidative stress before exercise with the presence of radical species, oxidation of purine bases and reduced antioxidant capacity. After the scheduled training, a global improvement of oxidative stress markers was observed with an upregulation of HSP27, HSP70, Sirt1 and Sirt2 expression, as adaptive response. Conclusion: our results underline the importance of these biochemical parameters to monitor oxidative stress in aging and the adaptive redox response to physical exercise in elderly.Therefore, these biomarkers may be routinely used in order to identify individuals at risk for developing oxidative stress related pathologies as well as in personalized physical therapy