Immune responses to inflammation and trauma: a physical training model.

Physical activity and training have some potential as tools for examining immune responses to inflammation and trauma. Contributors to the present symposium review various aspects of the inflammatory process, including issues of lymphocyte recirculation and endotoxemia. They examine also the extent and nature of the immune disturbances induced by acute and chronic exercise and consider parallels between such responses and cellular manifestations of clinical sepsis. Factors modulating immune responses during physical activity include changes in the circulating levels of various cytokines, alterations in nutritional status, an altered expression of adhesion molecules, and the possible intervention of reactive species. Factors that can exacerbate exercise-induced changes include exposure to adverse environments, particularly hot conditions, and disturbances of the normal sleep-wakefulness cycle. Current research in exercise immunology finds clinical application in attempts to regulate aging, acute viral infections, and neoplasia.