Transcriptome analysis in response to endurance exercise in non-elite marathon runners

Given that endurance exercise can have a huge impact on nonelite athletes, this study set out to analyze the impact of running a marathon on nonelite athletes by identifying which systems may be differentially expressed during such activity. Blood samples were taken from 78 nonelite athletes participating in the Barcelona Marathon at three different time points: before the marathon at baseline levels (START), immediately upon completion (FINISH), and 24 hours after completion (24REST). Differential gene expression, GO term, and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were conducted performing three different comparisons obtaining 9534, 162, and 61 in START vs FINISH; 9454, 131, and 59 in FINISH vs 24REST; 454, 14, and 8 in START vs 24REST, respectively. Results showed that performing strenuous exercise significantly deregulated immune system function, which could increase the risk of infection during the period after the marathon. In addition, the study also found changes in inflammatory markers, mitochondrial function, the oxidative environment, and lipid metabolism. While gene expression did not fully recover 24 hours after the race, it was significantly closer to the baseline values than it was immediately after exercising. The results obtained suggest that endurance exercise has a substantial impact on nonelite athletes and highlights potential areas for further research.