Understanding the role of Strength Training In Muscle-to-immUne celL communication in Ageing, healTh & disEase - STIMULATE

STIMULATE’s main challenge is to unravel if and how strength training (ST) can counter inflammation
and improve immune function in older persons with different levels of systemic inflammation. There
is currently no literature on how exercise interacts with ongoing inflammation in older patients
suffering from acute and/or severe inflammatory conditions. With STIMULATE, we will close this
knowledge-gap by investigating the muscle-to-immune cell communication during ST according to
the inflammatory status in older persons. We hypothesize that ST triggers a dose-specific muscle-toimmune cell communication eliciting anti-inflammatory effects in immune cells, which on the one
hand induces an overall decrease in systemic inflammation and on the other hand improves the
response on inflammatory stimuli. We will set up a randomized controlled ST intervention study
investigating both the longterm (3 months training and 3 months detraining) and the acute STinduced effects on inflammation and immune function. Since most myokines are also involved in
regulating the inflammatory response, we hypothesize that systemic inflammation interferes with the
muscle-to-immune cell communication. STIMULATE will identify the effectors of a muscle-to-immune
message through ST. We will expand exercise immunology research to the unconventional setting of
older patients suffering from inflammatory conditions, and our results will open a new avenue for
personalized ST prescription.