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Effects of acute hypoxia tests on blood markers in high-level endurance athletes

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the response of blood markers to acute hypoxia in high-level endurance athletes before training based on “living high-training low” model. Thirty endurance athletes performed a hypoxic cycling test and spent 3 h at rest in a simulated altitude of 3,000 m. At the end of the hypoxic cycling test, the quantity of the natural antisense transcript of HIF-1α mRNA (aHIF) transcript increased significantly (+37%, P = 0.024). After 3-h exposure, at a simulated altitude of 3,000 m, the amount of HIF-1α mRNA increased significantly (+57%, P = 0.012). Moreover, a large inter-subject range was observed in response to the hypoxic cycling test and to the prolonged hypoxic exposure: −133%/+79% and −82%/+653% for HIF-1α mRNA, 69%/+324% and −76%/+229% for aHIF. This study shows a large inter-variability of blood markers in elite athletes in response to acute hypoxic exposure corroborating previous observations made in other populations.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the “International Olympic Committee” and the “Ministère de la Jeunesse et des Sports”. The authors would like to thank the athletes for their donation of time and blood. We also thank Fabrice Kwiatkowski for statistics and Glen Foster for careful reading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Biologie des Activités Physiques et Sportives, Faculté de Médecine, 28 Place Henri Dunant, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Rémi Mounier, Vincent Pialoux, Jean Coudert, Eric Clottes & Nicole Fellmann

  2. Centre National de Ski Nordique, ID Jacobeys, 39200, Prémanon, France

    Laurent Schmitt

  3. Laboratoire «Réponses Cellulaires et Fonctionnelles à l’Hypoxie», EA 2363, ARPE, Université Paris 13, 93017, Bobigny, France

    Jean-Paul Richalet

  4. Ecole Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme, BP 24, 74401, Chamonix, France

    Paul Robach

  5. Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, Toulouse, France

    Eric Clottes

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  1. Rémi Mounier
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  2. Vincent Pialoux
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  3. Laurent Schmitt
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  8. Nicole Fellmann
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Correspondence to Nicole Fellmann.

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Mounier, R., Pialoux, V., Schmitt, L. et al. Effects of acute hypoxia tests on blood markers in high-level endurance athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol 106, 713–720 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1072-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1072-z

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