Apoptosis and physical exercise: effects on skeletal muscle

Abstract

This brief review will discuss an exciting new area in exercise science, namely the role of apoptosis programmed cell death in exercise. Apoptotic cell death differs morphologically and biochemically from necrotic cell death, although both appear to occur after exercise. Accelerated apoptosis has been documented to occur in a variety of disease states, such as AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as in the aging heart. In striking contrast, failure to activate this genetically regulated cell death may result in cancer and certain viral infections. Here, the apoptosis phenomenon will be discussed, as it occurs in skeletal muscle, and its relation to physical exercise, as well as the interaction with the HSP70 protein. We speculate that exercise-induced apoptosis is a normal regulatory process that serves to remove certain damaged cells without a pronounced infl ammatory response, thus ensuring optimal organism function.