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. 2022 Sep 22:2022:7985596.
doi: 10.1155/2022/7985596. eCollection 2022.

Immunophenotypic Analysis of T Lymphocytes and Cytokine Production in Elderly Practicing Physical Activities and Its Relationship with Quality of Life and Depression

Tamires Marielem de Carvalho-Costa  1 , José Rodrigues do Carmo Neto  2 , Anna Glória Fonseca Teodoro  1 , Flávia Zero Soares  1 , Luiza Pimenta Rochael  1 , Thaís Farnesi Soares de Assunção  1 , Beatriz Coutinho de Souza  1 , Beatriz Sodré Matos  1 , Paula Degani Ferreira Dos Santos  1 , Djalma Alexandre Alves Silva  1 , Juliana Reis Machado  3 , Paulo Roberto da Silva  4 , Monique Gomes Salles Tiburcio-Costa  5 , Carlo José Freire de Oliveira  1 , Virmondes Rodrigues Júnior  1 , Denise Bertulucci Rocha Rodrigues  4   6 , Marcos Vinícius da Silva  1
Affiliations

Immunophenotypic Analysis of T Lymphocytes and Cytokine Production in Elderly Practicing Physical Activities and Its Relationship with Quality of Life and Depression

Tamires Marielem de Carvalho-Costa et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. .

Abstract

Aging is a complex process often associated with a chronic inflammatory profile that alters several biological functions, including the immune system and cognitive and physical capacity. The practice of physical activity is increasingly gaining popularity as a method of preventing infections, depression, and other disorders that affect the quality of life of the elderly. Thus, this work analyzes the profile of cytokines and molecular markers expressed in immune cells of elderly people who practice physical activities or not, evaluating their impacts on the immune system and quality of life. For this, 48 individuals were recruited, and peripheral blood samples were collected for hemogram analysis, cytokine determination, and immunophenotyping. Elderly people were separated into two groups: practitioners with low-intensity physical activity and non-practitioners. Quality of life was assessed using the Whoqol-Old instrument, and depression was assessed using the Beck II Depression Inventory. When comparing the scores of the Whoqol-Old and Beck questionnaires, we observed a significant negative correlation between these two factors. The perception of a higher quality of life was present in the elderly who exercised and was related to greater autonomy and sensory abilities, whereas the presence of depression was lower. In the hemogram, we observed higher basophil and segmented counts in the sedentary elderly, whereas lymphocytes and monocytes had lower counts. Elderly practitioners of physical activities had higher levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10; increased expression of CD69, PD1, and TIM-3 in CD4+ T lymphocytes and increased CD14+CD80+ and CD14+CD86+ monocytes. Elderly people with an increased perception of quality of life had higher levels of IFN-γ, higher expression of CD14+CD80+CD86+, and decreased levels of TRAIL. An increase in TRAIL was observed in individuals with depression, in addition to an increased expression of CD14+CD86+. These results show a clear correlation between the quality of life, level of depression, physical activity, and immune system function. Although some cytokines with a typical proinflammatory profile (IFN-γ) were observed, the results point to a protective state with benefits reflected in the general well-being of the elderly who exercise.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Assessment of individual perception of quality of life, depression scale, and impact of physical and/or mental activity in the elderly. (a) Correlation between the values obtained in the Whoqol-Old questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory II. (b) Impact of physical and/or mental activity on individual perception of quality of life (Whoqol-Old). (c) Impact of physical and/or mental activity on assessing the depression scale (BDI score). (D-I) Impact of physical and/or mental activity on the following assessment facets of individual perception of quality of life: sensory functioning; autonomy; past, present, and future activities; social participation; death and dying; and intimacy, respectively. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Impact of physical and/or mental activity on hematological parameters in the elderly. (a) total leukocytes (WBT), (b) basophils (bas), (c) segmented (sec), (d) monocytes (mono), (e) lymphocytes (lymph), and (f) eosinophils (eos). Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Impact of physical activity on the serum cytokine profile of the elderly. (a) IFN-γ, (B) IL-4, (c) IL-10, (d) IL-1β, (E) IL-6, (f) TNF-α, (g) TGF-β, and (h) TRAIL. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Impact of perceived quality of life on the serum cytokine profile of the elderly. (a) IFN-γ, (b) IL-4, (c) IL-10, (d) IL-1β, (e) IL-6, (f) TNF-α, (g) TGF-β and (h) TRAIL. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Correlation of TRAIL with (a) individual perception of quality of life (Whoqol-Old score) and with (b) depression scale (BDI). A Spearman correlation test was performed. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Impact of physical activity on the expression profile of surface markers in CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes obtained from the blood of elderly people. Expressions of (a) CD69, (b) PD1, and (c) TIM-3 on CD4+ T lymphocytes. Expressions of (d) CD69, (e) PD1, and (f) TIM-3 on CD8+ T lymphocytes. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Impact of physical activity on the expression profile of surface markers on CD14+ cells obtained from the blood of the elderly. Expressions of (a) CD14+CD86+CD80+, (b) CD14+CD86+, and (c) CD14+CD80+ on CD14+ cells. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Impact of quality of life perception on the expression profile of surface markers in CD14+ cells obtained from the blood of the elderly. Expression of (a) CD14+CD86+CD80+, (b) CD14+CD80+, and (c) CD14+CD86+. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Impact of depression on the expression profile of surface markers on CD14+ cells obtained from the blood of elderly people. Expressions of (a) CD14 +CD86 + CD80+, (b) CD14+CD80+, and (c) CD14+CD86+. Differences are considered statistically significant when p < 0.05.
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