Amino-terminal propeptide of C-type natriuretic peptide (NT-ProCNP) levels are altered following anaerobic exercise in physically active young men.

It has been known that plasma level of atrial natriuretic peptide increases following exercise in healthy subjects (Vogelsang et al, 2006). However, no alteration has been found in level of urine C-type natriuretic peptide following exercise in healthy subjects (Bentzen et al, 2004). Amino-terminal propeptide of C-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proCNP) is known as an equimolar product of CNP synthesis. In this study, plasma levels of NT-proCNP were compared in young men who are physically active or sedentary before and after exercise. Healthy young men (aged between 18 and 25 years) who defined the exercise duration more than 2.5 hours per week at least one year were accepted as physically active (n=10) and those lower than 1.5 hours per week were accepted as sedentary (n=10). Daily energy expenditure of the subjects was recorded by an accelerometer during seven days. Level of maximal oxygen consumption was determined by Astrand test on the first day of the study. Wingate test was applied for anaerobic exercise on the following day. Plasma NT-proCNP levels were measured before anaerobic exercise and one, five and thirty minutes after the exercise. Values were shown as means±SD. Two groups comparisons were made by Mann-Whitney U test and comparison of continuous variables were made by Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. Basal NT-proCNP levels, body mass index and body fat of the groups were similar. Exercise duration of physically active group was reported as 11.3±5.0 hours per week. Daily energy expenditure was found higher in physically active group than the sedentary group (1488.8±169.6 kcal, n=3 vs. 741.8± 299.2 kcal, n=8, respectively, p<0.05). NT-proCNP levels in the fifth minute (0.93±0.23 pmol; p<0.05) and in the thirty minute (0.77±0.21 pmol p<0.05) after exercise were higher than the basal measurements (0.64±0.29 pmol) in physically active group. However, the serial comparison of NT-proCNP levels did not differ in the subjects who are sedentary. The plasma levels of NT-proCNP after fifth minute of exercise were higher in physically active group (0.93±0.23 pmol) than the sedentary group (0.74±0.16 pmol, p<0.05). The present study demonstrated that plasma levels of NTproCNP increases following the short term anaerobic exercise in healthy subjects who are physically active but not in sedentary subjects. Physical activity may be a factor affecting the alteration of the secretion of NT-proCNP following exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]