INTRODUCTION
Many health issues can be solved with a simple workout. For example, when you are feeling stressed, it is scientifically proven that regular physical leisure activities can help relieve that stress. Other added benefits from exercise would include the ability to lower anxiety and depression levels, promote better sleep and help with weight loss (Hojman, 2017). One health issue many people don’t think exercise can help with is cancer. While these presented benefits do not directly target cancerous tumors, exercise could target myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and lower the inhibiting actions of these cells.
MSDC cells are thought to promote an immunosuppressive environment, allowing for rapid tumor growth. MDSCs are produced in bone marrow from myeloid precursor cells before entering the circulatory system. There are two different types of MDSCs,
polymorphonuclear MDSCs (PMN-MDSC) and mononuclear MDSCs (M-MDSC). PMN-MDSCs have the same chemical, biological make up and operate the same as neutrophils; M-MDSCs have similar morphological and phenotypical make up to monocytes. When these MSDCs circulate, they are mixed with circulating malignant cancer cells and MDSCs migrate into solid tumors.This process is responsible for the rise in MDSC in cancer patients and due to the rise of these cells, cancer patients frequently have abnormal or emergency myelopoiesis. Myelopoiesis is the process of creating mature white blood cells, namely granulocytes, a class of cells that release enzymes to aid the primary immune response against infection that causes inflammation in the body (NCI, n.d). Based off of studies on tumor-bearing mice, MDSCs thrive in high inflammatory environments.
Exercise can directly regulate high inflammatory environments in the body in two ways. One way is signals from myeloid immune cells. The myeloid immune cells includes kupffer cells, micrognila, osteoclasts, and Langerhans' cells and they are key players in acute and chronic inflammation. When these cells sense cellular damage, inflammatory signals are activated. Based on various types of research, when acute exercise is done on a regular basis it can regulate these inflammatory cells (Hojman, 2017). Another way working out can regulate these inflammatory environments are when hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine are released into the bloodstream and trigger adrenergic receptors. When immune cells, specifically T cells, become bonded with the receptors that are attached to these hormones an immunological response is triggered with the release of anti inflammatory cytokines and many other inflammatory regulating proteins (Brubaker, 2017 and Pállinger, 2008). By these means exercise can reduce inflammation, which can regulate growing conditions for these cells, reduce the amount of MDSC cells and their ability to suppress T cells when a tumor is present.