The Role of exercise as an intervention for improving the immune system and microbiota

Résumé

Physical exercise has been considered an excellent non-pharmacological strategy to improve the immune system (IS) through changes in the morphology and function of cells and the expression of pro-and antiinflamatory cytokines. However, different aspects such as the type, frequency and duration of physical exercise can cause acute or chronic biochemical changes and can lead to specific physiological responses. Natural killer (NK) cells and phagocytes have been shown to be very sensitive to acute physical exercise, which has been associated with increased susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections. Moreover, when physical exercise is performed for prolonged periods, more than 12 weeks, it includes higher concentrations of CD4 T lymphocyte, which are direct regulators of the immune response together with increased NK concentrations. Finally, physical exercise has been shown to have a highly positive impact on the gut microbiota. The performance of aerobic exercise has been correlated with an improvement in the diversity and health of gut microbes such as "Methanbrevibacter smithii" and "bachteroides" spp. In this section, we will discuss the role of physical exercise as an effective tool for prevention and adjuvant treatment of various chronic diseases.