Further analyses revealed that interferon acts directly on muscle fibers to alter mitochondrial function and limit energy production. Blocking interferon prevented metabolic abnormalities and improved aerobic fitness in mice lacking Tregs.

Interferon is known to promote chronic inflammation, a process that underlies many chronic diseases and age-related conditions and has become a tantalizing target for therapies aimed at reducing inflammation.

Tregs have also captured the attention of scientists and industry as treatments for a range of immunologic conditions marked by abnormal inflammation. There are efforts afoot to design interventions targeting Tregs in the context of specific immune-mediated diseases.

And while immunologic conditions driven by aberrant inflammation require carefully calibrated therapies, exercise is yet another way to counter inflammation, the researchers said. Co-investigators included Yizhi Sun, Birgitta Ryback, Bruce Spiegelman, Amber Mueller, and Christophe Benoist.

The work was funded by National Institutes of Health grants R01 AR, F32 AG, and F32 AG; and by the JPB Foundation.

News Topic Menu News Topics Research Awards and Achievements Care Delivery HMS Community Education Stay Up to Date. First Name. Last Name. Email Address. Which publications would you like to receive? Harvard Medicine magazine monthly.

Harvard Medicine News weekly. On the Brain quarterly. Some Benefits of Exercise Stem from the Immune System Immune cells mobilized in the muscles during exercise fend off inflammation and boost endurance.

By EKATERINA PESHEVA November 3, Research 4 min read. At a glance: Research in mice shows that the anti-inflammatory properties of exercise may arise from immune cells mobilized to counter exercise-induced inflammation.

Immune cells prevent muscle damage by lowering levels of interferon, a key driver of chronic inflammation, inflammatory diseases, and aging.

Get more HMS news here The study, done in mice, suggests that the beneficial effects of exercise may be driven, at least partly, by the immune system. Understanding the molecular underpinnings of exercise Protecting from cardiovascular disease, reducing the risk of diabetes, shielding against dementia.

T cell heroes and inflammation-fueling villains Exercise is known to cause temporary damage to the muscles, unleashing a cascade of inflammatory responses. The hind leg muscles of mice lacking Treg cells right showed prominent signs of inflammation after regular exercise, compared with those of mice with intact Tregs left.

The research showed that this uncontrolled inflammation negatively impacted muscle metabolism and function. Diane Mathis When the Immune System Attacks the Body. The Surprisingly Simple Recipe for Starting to Grow a Limb February 5, Study illuminates development, could inform limb regeneration efforts.

Uncovering New Drivers of Heart Disease, Brain Vessel Disorders February 7, How genetic changes in cells that line blood vessels fuel cardiac disease, brain vessel….

Experimental Gene Therapy Enables Hearing in Five Children Born Deaf January 25, This has shaped the common view that arduous exercise i.

However, the idea that exercise per se can suppress immunity and increase infection risk independently of the many other factors e. anxiety, sleep disruption, travel, exposure, nutritional deficits, environmental extremes, etc.

experienced by these populations has recently been challenged. The purpose of this debate article was to solicit opposing arguments centered around this fundamental question in the exercise immunology field: can exercise affect immune function to increase susceptibility to infection.

Issues that were contested between the debating groups include: i whether or not athletes are more susceptible to infection mainly of the upper respiratory tract than the general population; ii whether exercise per se is capable of altering immunity to increase infection risk independently of the multiple factors that activate shared immune pathways and are unique to the study populations involved; iii the usefulness of certain biomarkers and the interpretation of in vitro and in vivo data to monitor immune health in those who perform arduous exercise; and iv the quality of scientific evidence that has been used to substantiate claims for and against the potential negative effects of arduous exercise on immunity and infection risk.

A key point of agreement between the groups is that infection susceptibility has a multifactorial underpinning. An issue that remains to be resolved is whether exercise per se is a causative factor of increased infection risk in athletes. This article should provide impetus for more empirical research to unravel the complex questions that surround this contentious issue in the field of exercise immunology.

If you sense a cold, infection, or virus coming on, take a rest day. Nurture your immune system with vitamin C , zinc, good nutrition, and plenty of sleep.

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Become an Insider. Search Search Button. Health Healthy Body. W e often hear about the many health benefits of exercise. From reducing blood pressure to strengthening the heart and lungs , consistent workouts have been shown to provide an array of physical and mental health perks that touch nearly every system in the body.

Experts In This Article. Related Stories. title, 12 }}. Tags: Fitness Tips , Healthy Body. Loading More Posts Featured Collection. Close Close. But the concept of boosting immunity actually makes little sense scientifically.

In fact, boosting the number of cells in your body — immune cells or others — is not necessarily a good thing. For example, athletes who engage in "blood doping" — pumping blood into their systems to boost their number of blood cells and enhance their performance — run the risk of strokes.

Attempting to boost the cells of your immune system is especially complicated because there are so many different kinds of cells in the immune system that respond to so many different microbes in so many ways.

Which cells should you boost, and to what number? So far, scientists do not know the answer. What is known is that the body is continually generating immune cells. Certainly, it produces many more lymphocytes than it can possibly use.

The extra cells remove themselves through a natural process of cell death called apoptosis — some before they see any action, some after the battle is won. No one knows how many cells or what the best mix of cells the immune system needs to function at its optimum level.

As we age, our immune response capability becomes reduced, which in turn contributes to more infections and more cancer. As life expectancy in developed countries has increased, so too has the incidence of age-related conditions. While some people age healthily, the conclusion of many studies is that, compared with younger people, the elderly are more likely to contract infectious diseases and, even more importantly, more likely to die from them.

Respiratory infections, including, influenza , the COVID virus and particularly pneumonia are a leading cause of death in people over 65 worldwide.

No one knows for sure why this happens, but some scientists observe that this increased risk correlates with a decrease in T cells, possibly from the thymus atrophying with age and producing fewer T cells to fight off infection. Whether this decrease in thymus function explains the drop in T cells or whether other changes play a role is not fully understood.

Others are interested in whether the bone marrow becomes less efficient at producing the stem cells that give rise to the cells of the immune system.

A reduction in immune response to infections has been demonstrated by older people's response to vaccines. For example, studies of influenza vaccines have shown that for people over age 65, the vaccine is less effective compared to healthy children over age 2.

But despite the reduction in efficacy, vaccinations for influenza and S. pneumoniae have significantly lowered the rates of sickness and death in older people when compared with no vaccination.

There appears to be a connection between nutrition and immunity in the elderly. A form of malnutrition that is surprisingly common even in affluent countries is known as "micronutrient malnutrition.

Older people tend to eat less and often have less variety in their diets. One important question is whether dietary supplements may help older people maintain a healthier immune system. Older people should discuss this question with their doctor.

Like any fighting force, the immune system army marches on its stomach. Healthy immune system warriors need good, regular nourishment. Scientists have long recognized that people who live in poverty and are malnourished are more vulnerable to infectious diseases.

For example, researchers don't know whether any particular dietary factors, such as processed foods or high simple sugar intake, will have adversely affect immune function. There are still relatively few studies of the effects of nutrition on the immune system of humans.

There is some evidence that various micronutrient deficiencies — for example, deficiencies of zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E — alter immune responses in animals, as measured in the test tube.

However, the impact of these immune system changes on the health of animals is less clear, and the effect of similar deficiencies on the human immune response has yet to be assessed.

So, what can you do? If you suspect your diet is not providing you with all your micronutrient needs — maybe, for instance, you don't like vegetables — taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may bring other health benefits, beyond any possibly beneficial effects on the immune system.

Taking megadoses of a single vitamin does not. More is not necessarily better. Walk into a store, and you will find bottles of pills and herbal preparations that claim to "support immunity" or otherwise boost the health of your immune system.

Although some preparations have been found to alter some components of immune function, thus far there is no evidence that they actually bolster immunity to the point where you are better protected against infection and disease. Demonstrating whether an herb — or any substance, for that matter — can enhance immunity is, as yet, a highly complicated matter.

Scientists don't know, for example, whether an herb that seems to raise the levels of antibodies in the blood is actually doing anything beneficial for overall immunity. Modern medicine has come to appreciate the closely linked relationship of mind and body. A wide variety of maladies, including stomach upset, hives, and even heart disease, are linked to the effects of emotional stress.

Despite the challenges, scientists are actively studying the relationship between stress and immune function. For one thing, stress is difficult to define. What may appear to be a stressful situation for one person is not for another. When people are exposed to situations they regard as stressful, it is difficult for them to measure how much stress they feel, and difficult for the scientist to know if a person's subjective impression of the amount of stress is accurate.

The scientist can only measure things that may reflect stress, such as the number of times the heart beats each minute, but such measures also may reflect other factors.

Most scientists studying the relationship of stress and immune function, however, do not study a sudden, short-lived stressor; rather, they try to study more constant and frequent stressors known as chronic stress, such as that caused by relationships with family, friends, and co-workers, or sustained challenges to perform well at one's work.

Some scientists are investigating whether ongoing stress takes a toll on the immune system. But it is hard to perform what scientists call "controlled experiments" in human beings. In a controlled experiment, the scientist can change one and only one factor, such as the amount of a particular chemical, and then measure the effect of that change on some other measurable phenomenon, such as the amount of antibodies produced by a particular type of immune system cell when it is exposed to the chemical.

In a living animal, and especially in a human being, that kind of control is just not possible, since there are so many other things happening to the animal or person at the time that measurements are being taken.

Despite these inevitable difficulties in measuring the relationship of stress to immunity, scientists are making progress. Almost every mother has said it: "Wear a jacket or you'll catch a cold!

Probably not, exposure to moderate cold temperatures doesn't increase your susceptibility to infection. There are two reasons why winter is "cold and flu season. Also the influenza virus stays airborne longer when air is cold and less humid.

But researchers remain interested in this question in different populations. Some experiments with mice suggest that cold exposure might reduce the ability to cope with infection.

But what about humans? Scientists have performed experiments in which volunteers were briefly dunked in cold water or spent short periods of time naked in subfreezing temperatures. They've studied people who lived in Antarctica and those on expeditions in the Canadian Rockies.

The results have been mixed. For example, researchers documented an increase in upper respiratory infections in competitive cross-country skiers who exercise vigorously in the cold, but whether these infections are due to the cold or other factors — such as the intense exercise or the dryness of the air — is not known.

A group of Canadian researchers that has reviewed hundreds of medical studies on the subject and conducted some of its own research concludes that there's no need to worry about moderate cold exposure — it has no detrimental effect on the human immune system. Should you bundle up when it's cold outside?

The answer is "yes" if you're uncomfortable, or if you're going to be outdoors for an extended period where such problems as frostbite and hypothermia are a risk. But don't worry about immunity. Regular exercise is one of the pillars of healthy living.

It improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases. But does it help to boost your immune system naturally and keep it healthy?

Just like a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.

No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. With this Special Health Report, Living Better, Living Longer , you will learn the protective steps doctors recommend for keeping your mind and body fit for an active and rewarding life.

If you have a suitcase or a shoe box, you can fill them up with cans of food and use them as weights. You can also use gallon water bottles. There are also exercises you can do from in your chair such as arm raises and bicep curls.

You can always use a mat on your floor or rug for push-ups and squats or do squats against the wall. Even getting outside to take a walk or a run is beneficial. We also want to reduce our time spent sitting. There are many resources online and most are designed to be done in the home.

What can be done at home to help children who are accustomed to having recess or physical education classes? More importantly, animals lacking Tregs did not adapt to increasing demands of exercise over time the way mice with intact Tregs did. They did not derive the same whole-body benefits from exercise and had diminished aerobic fitness.

Further analyses revealed that interferon acts directly on muscle fibers to alter mitochondrial function and limit energy production. Blocking interferon prevented metabolic abnormalities and improved aerobic fitness in mice lacking Tregs.

Interferon is known to promote chronic inflammation, a process that underlies many chronic diseases and age-related conditions and has become a tantalizing target for therapies aimed at reducing inflammation.

Tregs have also captured the attention of scientists and industry as treatments for a range of immunologic conditions marked by abnormal inflammation. There are efforts afoot to design interventions targeting Tregs in the context of specific immune-mediated diseases.

And while immunologic conditions driven by aberrant inflammation require carefully calibrated therapies, exercise is yet another way to counter inflammation, the researchers said. Co-investigators included Yizhi Sun, Birgitta Ryback, Bruce Spiegelman, Amber Mueller, and Christophe Benoist.

The work was funded by National Institutes of Health grants R01 AR, F32 AG, and F32 AG; and by the JPB Foundation.

News Topic Menu News Topics Research Awards and Achievements Care Delivery HMS Community Education Stay Up to Date. First Name. Last Name. Email Address. Which publications would you like to receive? Harvard Medicine magazine monthly.

Harvard Medicine News weekly. On the Brain quarterly. Some Benefits of Exercise Stem from the Immune System Immune cells mobilized in the muscles during exercise fend off inflammation and boost endurance.

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