XXII. BIOCHEMICKÝ ZJAZD - Jesseniova lekárska fakulta

Lectures
HOW CAN OXIDATIVE STRESS AND DNA STABILITY BE INFLUENCED
BY DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?
Karl-Heinz Wagner and Oliver Neubauer
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Emerging Field Oxidative Stress and DNA Stability,
University of Vienna, Austria
Oxidative stress-induced DNA damage and insufficient DNA repair may play an important
role in the etiology of cancer, diabetes and arteriosclerosis. Participation in regular
physical activity as well as plant based diet reduces the risk of developing such and
other lifestyle-dependent diseases. Clear evidence for protective effects was observed
for several foods although no correlations between oxidative/antioxidative parameter
and DNA relevant biomarker can be observed.
Interestingly, acute and strenuous exercise may induce oxidative stress via enhanced
formation of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS) leading to oxidatively
modified lipids, proteins and nucleic acids and possibly to lifestyle dependent diseases.
Exercise-induced DNA damage might either be a consequence of oxidative stress or
inflammatory processes or it is causally involved in inflammation and immunological
alterations after strenuous prolonged exercise (e.g. by inducing lymphocyte apoptosis and
lymphocytopenia). Currently, only a few data have investigated the influence of exercise
on DNA stability and damage with conflicting results, small study groups and the use of
different sample matrices or methods and result units. The presentation will address
results of food based studies as well as the effects of exercise of various intensities and
durations on DNA stability, focusing on human population studies. It will consider the
type of exercise conducted (field or laboratory based) and the intensity performed (i.e.
competitive ultra/endurance exercise or maximal tests until exhaustion). The findings
suggest that competitive ultra-endurance exercise (>4 h) does not induce persistent DNA
damage. However, when considering the effects of endurance exercise (