INTRODUCTION: Elite athletes regularly experience impaired performance due to upper respiratory disease (e.g., infections, asthma). Oftentimes, illness-related training interruptions happen during intense periods, such as before or during competitions, which has a major impact on the athlete`s potential success. Apart from injuries, upper respiratory symptoms are the most common reason for elite athlete`s presentation at their sports physician. So far, the reasons for the high prevalence remain unclear. Here, Olink proteomics can provide a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and help the identification of potential biomarkers of susceptibility to infections, allergic disease and asthma in elite athletes. METHODS: We assess immunological and molecular differences in serum samples of cross-country skiers (n=14) and ice hockey players (n=21), and two control groups of amateur athletes (n=29) and non-sportive persons (n=24), by means of Olink targeted proteomics, using a proximity extension assay. Measured panels included 184 proteins involved in immune response and inflammation. Information on training (e.g., weekly hours) and medical history (e.g., asthma, allergic disease) was obtained via questionnaires. RESULTS: A substantial number of cross-country skiers and ice hockey players either suffer from asthma (14%), allergies in general (20%), allergic rhinitis (34%) and recurrent upper respiratory infections or fever (29% and 20% respectively in intense training periods). Loss of training due to infections is reported by 43% of all elite athletes. Targeted serum analyses of 184 proteins revealed that elite ice hockey players have significantly upregulated levels of proteins involved in immune response and inflammation in comparison to cross-country skiers. Those differentially expressed proteins play key roles in innate immune response to viral infection, platelet-endothelium-leukocyte interaction, apoptosis, Th cell differentiation, lymphocyte proliferation, and TREM1, interferon and Jak-STAT signaling. CONCLUSION: Personalized sports medicine is a newly introduced concept, now allowed by targeted proteomics. Proximity extension assay-based proteomics revealed that ice hockey players exhibit an overall pro-inflammatory profile. In comparison, amateur athletes and non-sportive controls did not show any upregulation of pro-inflammatory proteins. Cross-country skiers` profiles in general are more comparable to the latter than to elite ice hockey players. Within the groups, there are athletes with different endotypes such as pro-inflammatory, hypermetabolic, strong anti-viral and/or tissue destruction, all of which remain to be further elucidated. The impact of recent physical activity, overtraining, microbiome and exogenous exposome on inflammation- and immune response-related proteins requires further investigation.
© Copyright 2022 27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Sevilla, 30. Aug - 2. Sep 2022. Опубликовано по Faculty of Sport Science - Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Все права защищены.