Impact of physical exercise training on DNA damage and repair: does gender play a role?

Acute physical exercise is associated with an enhanced aerobic metabolism, which can result in an increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS can react with DNA, causing strand breaks and modified bases, namely 8-oxoguanine, one of the most common products of oxidative DNA damage, which is repaired by 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1). Regular physical exercise is considered as a key component of a healthy lifestyle, and its preventive effect, at least in part, is due to oxidative stress induced adaptation, which has been related with an increase in antioxidant activity and in oxidative damage repair enzymes. Gender-related differences concerning DNA damage and DNA repair have been reported. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of 16 weeks of combined physical exercise training on DNA damage and repair, in 26 healthy Caucasian individuals, 14 males and 12 females.FCT for the research grant SFRH/BD/66438/2009. The project PTDC/DES/121575/2010, and also UID/AGR/04033/2013.N/