Football and team handball training postpone cellular aging in women
Authors: Marie Hagman
Muhammad Asghar
Bjørn Fristrup
Rémi Michelin
Peter Krustrup
Journal: Scientific Reports (2021)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary
Keywords: aging hallmarks; lifelong exercise; telomere length; mitochondrial copy number; PGC-1α
Affiliations: Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense, Denmark., Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen, Bispebjerg Hospital, 2400, Copenhagen, NV, Denmark., Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64, Solna, Sweden., Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense, Denmark. ., Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. ., Sport and Health Sciences, St Luke's Campus, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX1 6JA, UK. ., Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China. ., Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden.

Abstract:  Several hallmarks of aging have been identified and examined separately in previous exercise studies. For the first time, this study investigates the effect of lifelong regular exercise in humans on two of the central aging hallmarks combined. This cross-sectional study involved 129 healthy, non-smoking women, including young elite football players (YF, n = 29), young untrained controls (YC, n = 30), elderly team handball players (EH, n = 35) and elderly untrained controls (EC, n = 35). From a resting blood sample, mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated and sorted into monocytes and lymphocytes. Telomere length, mitochondrial (mtDNA) copy number and key regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis and function (PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression) were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Overall, young women showed significantly longer telomeres and higher PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression, but lower mtDNA copy number compared to elderly subjects. A multivariate analysis showed that YF had 22-24% longer telomeres in lymphocytes and MNCs compared to YC. In addition, YF showed 19-20% higher mtDNA copy number in lymphocytes and MNCs compared to YC. The two young groups did not differ in PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression. EH showed 14% lower mtDNA copy number in lymphocytes compared to EC, but 3.4-fold higher lymphocyte PGC-1α expression compared to EC. In MNCs, EH also showed 1.4-1.6-fold higher PGC-1α and PGC-1β expression. The two elderly groups did not differ in telomere length. Elite football training and lifelong team handball training are associated with anti-aging mechanisms in leukocytes in women, including maintenance of telomere length and superior mitochondrial characteristics. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 This is an interesting paper and good hypothesis. The conclusion states that  Elite football training and lifelong team handball training are associated with anti-aging mechanisms in leukocytes in women, including maintenance of telomere length and superior mitochondrial characteristics . I am at loss here understanding the meaning of  elite football training. I could not find a definition for this training - instead browsing through various previous papers, the authors should have once again defined the term in this paper for the ease. My question here is that non-elite training is not useful in anti-ageing process? This is not a prospective study - therefore, we will not be able to know whether these elite-football trained young athletes remain young forever? How long the elite training needs to be continued? is this going to be life-long training to avoid ageing process? if they stop elite training, will the parameters studied reverse? Did you study the parameters in elite-trained old athletes for comparison? ,