Tai-Chi-Chuan on Differentiation and Maturation of Dendritic Cells

Introduction

Tai-Chi-Chuan (TCC), a branch of traditional Chinese martial arts, has been widely practiced since the 17th century. TCC gradually evolved into many styles, the Chen style is the oldest and the Yang style is the most popular. The practice of TCC was originally related to concerns about physical fitness and the capacity for self defense. Over the centuries, it has become far more focused on the homoeostasis of the body's internal environment. The interaction between mind and body has long been seen as more important than the development of any martial arts skills. Classical TCC consists of many complex postures, and performing a complete set takes 20 to 30 minutes. A simplified form of TCC was developed to facilitate promotion in 1956 (1), however, simplified TCC have lesser training benefits owing to reduction of exercise intensity and duration. TCC has been considered as a practice of medico-athletics, which can improvement of physical condition and treatment of certain chronic diseases. Exercise has definite effects on the health of human, but appropriate forms are scarce. Recent studies have shown that TCC can improve cardiorespiratory function (2-4), muscle strength (5), humoral and cellular immunity (6-8), metabolic response (9), and mental control (10). Studies used TCC postures for training showed that the exercise intensity of TCC training is moderate (2). A well designed study for TCC on human health, especially whether TCC improve immune response or not, will be processed in this project.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized leukocytes for presenting antigens to quiescent, naive, and memory T cells, and they play pivotal roles in the induction of cell-mediated as well as humoral immune responses in vivo (11). The exceptional ability of DCs to stimulate T cells in vitro and in vivo is attributed, at least in part, to their ability to capture antigen, to migrate into lymphoid organs, and to express high levels of immunostimulatory molecules, such as major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, B7-1, B7-2, and IL-12 (11,12). Immature DCs, such as Langerhans cells of the skin, capture and process antigens very efficiently (13). Upon exposure to various microbial and inflammatory products (eg, lipopolysaccharide [LPS], IL-1, TNF-alpha), DCs mature and migrate into lymphoid tissues to interact with T and B cells (14-17).

In this study we will investigate the effect of Tai-Chi-Chuan (TCC) on DC differentiation in the peripheral blood obtained from the healthy donor who take part with and without TCC exercise. Subjects who practice with or without Yang TCC will be assessed their distribution of various DC sub-populations (myeloid DC and plasmacytoid cell) and their activation state will be analyzed by detecting surface marker expression.

The potential of this study is to demonstrate the immunomodulatory activity of TCC, a novel sport in Chinese for thousand years.

Materials and methods

1. Subjects and study design. Yang TCC practitioner who keep practicing at least 3 times a week for more than 3 years will be recruited.

2. Cardiopulmonary fitness measurement during TCC practice. To determine the exercise intensity and cardiopulmonary fitness of the classical form of Yang TCC, HP responses and VO2max will be measured during TCC exercise. Lactate response before and immediately after TCC practice will be measured. The Cosmed K4 system (Cosmed s.r.l., Rome, Italy) consists of a photoelectric turbine flowmeter will be used to calculate the minute ventilation, and measure the number of expiratory cycles per minute. Cardiorespiratory parameters including heart rate, minute ventilation (VE), oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production (VCO2), will be also measured.

3. Cell preparation. The mononuclaer cells of blood will be isolated by using centrifugation on a density gradient (Ficoll-Hypaque, 1.077 gm/ml, Pharmacia Fine Chemicals). DCs will be isolated by using CD11c-conjugated MACS magnetic beads.

4. Assess the distribution of various DC sub-populations. Myeloid DC (CD11c+) and plasmacytoid cells (CD123+), which are excluded by lineage markers (CD3，CD14，CD16，CD19，CD20，CD56) will be analyzed by detecting surface marker expression with flow cytometer.

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