Acute Effects of Different Exercise Protocols on the Circulating Vascular microRNAs -16, -21, and -126 in Trained Subjects

Aim: mircoRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs regulating gene expression, are stably secreted into the blood and circulating miRNAs (c-miRNAs) may play an important role in cell–cell communication. Furthermore, c-miRNAs might serve as novel biomarkers of the current vascular cell status. Here, we examined how the levels of three vascular c-miRNAs (c-miR-16, c-miR-21, c-miR-126) are acutely affected by different exercise intensities and volumes.

Methods: 12 subjects performed 3 different endurance exercise protocols: 1. High-Volume Training (HVT; 130 min at 55% peak power output (PPO); 2. High-Intensity Training (HIT; 4 × 4 min at 95% PPO); 3. Sprint-Interval Training (SIT; 4 × 30 s all-out). c-miRNAs were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR with TaqMan probes at time points pre, 0′, 30′, 60′, and 180′ after each intervention. The expression of miR-126 and miR-21 was analyzed in vitro, in human coronary artery endothelial cells, human THP-1 monocytes, human platelets, human endothelial microparticles (EMPs) and human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). To investigate the transfer of miRNAs via EMPs, VSMCs were incubated with EMPs.

Results: HVT and SIT revealed large increases on c-miR-21 [1.9-fold by HVT (cohen's d = 0.85); 1.5-fold by SIT (cohen's d = 0.85)] and c-miR-126 [2.2-fold by SIT (cohen's d = 1.06); 1.9-fold by HVT (cohen's d = 0.85)] post-exercise compared to pre-values, while HIT revealed only small to moderate changes on c-miRs-21 (cohen's d = −0.28) and c-miR-126 (cohen's d = 0.53). c-miR-16 was only slightly affected by SIT (1.4-fold; cohen's d = 0.57), HVT (1.3-fold; cohen's d = 0.61) or HIT (1.1-fold; cohen's d = 0.2). Further in vitro experiments revealed that miR-126 and miR-21 are mainly of endothelial origin. Importantly, under conditions of endothelial apoptosis, miR-126 and miR-21 are packed from endothelial cells into endothelial microparticles, which were shown to transfer miR-126 into target vascular smooth muscle cells.

Conclusion: Taken together, we found that HVT and SIT are associated with the release of endothelial miRNAs into the circulation, which can function as intercellular communication devices regulating vascular biology.