Interferon-beta, but not tumor necrosis factor-alpha, production in response to poly I:C is maintained despite exhaustive exercise in mice

It remains unclear whether immune response to viral infection is inhibited by severe exercise. We determined whether exhaustive exercise inhibits interferon (IFN)-β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production after injection of synthetic double-stranded (ds) RNAs, a polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid (poly I:C), as viral infection model. Male C3H/HeN mice, which were divided into exhaustive-exercised and non-exercised groups, were injected with poly I:C (5 mg/kg). Although TNF-α in response to poly I:C was significantly inhibited by exhaustive exercise, IFN-β was no different in both groups. In in-vitro experiments, catecholamines inhibited poly I:C-induced TNF-α, but not IFN-β, production in macrophages. These results suggest that anti-virus cytokine IFN-β in response to poly I:C might be maintained despite severe stressful exercise.