Associate editor: BrainEffects of exercise training on the cardiovascular system: Pharmacological approaches
Introduction
A healthy lifestyle has been strongly associated with the practice of regular physical activity. Evidence has shown that physically active subjects have more longevity with reduction of morbidity and mortality. Physical exercise prevents or reduces the deleterious effects of pathological conditions, such as arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer disease (Kingwell, 2000, Sutoo and Akiyama, 2003, Larson and Wang, 2004). Classical kinetic studies were based exclusively in sports performance, but at present human movement studies are becoming an emerging science in the epidemiological area and public health.
Physical training produces significant alterations in autonomic nervous system activity and/or changes in cellular function resulting in marked modifications of the cardiovascular system function (Krieger et al., 1998, Kingwell, 2000). Basic sciences, such as physiology and biochemistry, have helped to increase knowledge in the physical exercise field and its association with cardiovascular benefits. Additionally, pharmacological studies have greatly contributed to the comprehension of the role of receptor and transduction pathways in the heart and blood vessels in response to exercise training. This review summarizes and examines the data from studies using animal models and human to determine the effect of exercise training on the cardiovascular system.
Section snippets
Adrenergic and muscarinic receptors and exercise training
The effect of exercise training on the sympathetic and parasympathetic activities has been studied in great detail by different groups (Frick et al., 1967, Lin and Horvath, 1972, Scheuer and Tipton, 1977, Katona et al., 1982, Geenen et al., 1988, Negrão et al., 1992, Grassi et al., 1994, Moore and Korzick, 1995, Shi et al., 1995, Collins and DiCarlo, 1997, Krieger et al., 1998, O'Sullivan and Bell, 2000). In general, these studies have shown that exercise training reduces sympathetic activity
Muscarinic cholinergic receptors and exercise
Acetylcholine released from parasympathetic fibers can stimulate 2 major types of receptors, named nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. Muscarinic receptors belong to the class of G protein-coupled receptor and are widely distributed throughout the periphery and the central nervous system (Caulfield, 1993). Five subtypes of muscarinic cholinergic receptors have been detected by molecular cloning, named M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5. In cardiac tissue, the stimulation of the subtype M2 muscarinic
Adenosine receptors and physical training
Adenosine is a nucleotide derived from ATP breakdown that exerts a variety of physiological actions in cardiovascular, renal, pulmonary, and immune systems (Ralevic & Burnstock, 1998). Specifically, in cardiovascular function, adenosine promotes vasodilatation and negative chronotropic and inotropic effects in several species (Berne, 1963, West and Belardinelli, 1985, Olsson and Pearson, 1990). At least 4 subtypes of adenosine receptors are found in the heart, namely A1, A2a, A2b, and A3
Responsiveness of vascular smooth muscle and exercise training
Originally, Furchgott and Zawadzki (1980) discovered that endothelial cells release a vascular smooth muscle relaxing factor that was named endothelium-derived releasing factor (EDRF). Later, Ignarro et al. (1987) and Palmer et al. (1987) revealed that EDRF was nitric oxide (NO; or a related compound) that is synthesized from the amino acid l-arginine by the enzyme NO synthase (NOS). Three isoforms of NOS, termed endothelial NOS (eNOS), neuronal NOS (nNOS), and inducible NOS (iNOS) have been
Erectile dysfunction and exercise
Erectile dysfunction is a public health problem, and it is now established that some vascular diseases such as hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, and arterial hypertension can interfere with the intricate vascular mechanisms underlying normal erection. Thus, alterations of penile arterial cell function may be the basis for the understanding of the prevalence of erectile dysfunction. Penile erection is a neurovascular phenomenon that requires dilation of penile vasculature, relaxation of
Summary and conclusion
Regular physical exercise is currently an important intervention to prevent and/or to manage cardiovascular diseases and other disorders. Specifically, the beneficial cardiovascular effects of physical training have been associated with alterations in autonomic nervous system and endothelial cells. However, the exact mechanisms by which physical exercise produces these alterations are not fully understood. Several pharmacological studies have been performed to investigate the effect of exercise
Acknowledgment
A. Zanesco and E. Antunes are supported by grants from the Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP).
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