Regular exercise helps prevent and delay the development of type 2 diabetes and its complications.
In a study from Karolinska Institutet, scientists found that activation of the immune system in skeletal muscle during exercise may underlie the difference in how people with type 2 diabetes perceive and respond to exercise.
People with type 2 diabetes typically have a dysregulated inflammatory response in multiple tissues, which is linked to the complications of the disease such as insulin resistance and heart disease.
In this study, the researchers found a fundamental role for exercise-responsive cytokines, exerkines, on skeletal muscle development and growth in people with normal glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes.
They tested untrained men diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and healthy volunteers of similar age and body weight. These volunteers were asked to perform a single bout of exercise on a cycle ergometer.
The research team collected blood and skeletal muscle biopsies in which they measured the response to exercise.
They found that several cytokines, molecules produced by the immune system in response to stress, were produced in the skeletal muscle of individuals with type 2 diabetes.
The effect of those cytokines was tested in cells in culture to determine whether those molecules affect the way skeletal muscle cells react to exercise.
The team says given the health-promoting effects of regular physical exercise on metabolism and skeletal muscle function, the exacerbated inflammatory response in individuals with type 2 diabetes is likely a beneficial response to acute exercise.
Activation of the immune system will likely decrease if exercise is repeated regularly during training regimens.
Reduced inflammation would be beneficial for blood sugar control and mitigate the complications linked to type 2 diabetes.
The team says they need to understand how they can modulate the inflammatory response to exercise.
Doing so may enhance the benefits of exercise and help people better manage type 2 diabetes with adequate training protocols.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about a new cause of type 2 diabetes, and common drinks that may make type 2 diabetes less deadly.
For more information about diabetes, please read studies about common cause of heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, and this diet could improve health in people with diabetes.
The study was conducted by Professor Juleen R. Zierath et al and published in the journal Science Advances.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
