Background: Physical exercise is essential for performance of the immune system. The integrity of immune response is dependent on the intensity and duration of the exercise performed. During exercise the metabolic and hormonal changes that occurred can induce lymphocyte apoptosis. Dehydroepiandrosteron sulphate (DHEAS) is one of the hormones that is affected by exercise, it is an androgen released from the adrenal cortex in response to adrenocortiocotropin releasing hormone (ACTH). DHEAS is regarded as an anti-aging hormone; it is primarily immune enhancing, providing some degree of counterbalance to the potentially detrimental effects of catecholamine and cortisol which are immunosuppressive if chronically elevated, it also had a role in the elimination of harmful lymphocytes which may give rise to chronic inflammation and possibly to autoimmunity. Methods: Sixty healthy subjects were involved in this study with a mean age of (37.05 ± 13.02) year. They were subjected to moderate exercise session which lasted for 60 min and repeated 3 times per week for 3 months. The exercise intensity was 50-60% of heart rate reserve (according to Karvonen formula). Two exercise stages were performed; the first stage include 30 minute of physical activity program and the second stage include 30 minute of treadmill exercise. Blood samples were collected before and after exercise to examine its effect on the level of DHEAS hormone and apoptosis of peripheral blood lymphocyte. Results: This study showed significant increment (P < 0.05) in the level of DHEAS hormone and the percentage of lymphocyte apoptosis after exercise in comparison to pre exercise values for each week along the period of the test.Three months exercise showed a significant correlation with the levels of DHEAS hormone (P= 0.000, r= 0.75), and with percentage of lymphocyte apoptosis (P = 0.001, r= 0.701).Conclusion: in this prospective study, following moderate exercise for three months; there was increase in the percentage of periphral blood lymphocyte apoptosis and increased level of DHEAS hormone in the first two months while in the third month this anti aging hormones had reached to a steady state after the subjects get trained to exercise. Keywords: moderate exercise, DHEAS, lymphocyte apoptosis.

moderate exercise --- DHEAS --- lymphocyte apoptosis.

AbstractBackground: Apoptosis and proliferation of cells are responsible for shaping tissues and organs in developing embryos. During adult life, apoptosis is a protective mechanism which eliminates old, useless, and damaged cells. In healthy organisms apoptosis and cell proliferation are in balance.Aim of the study: To detect apoptosis of peripheral blood lymphocytes in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and its relation with the percentage of glycated hemoglobin and the effect on the outcome of the disease.Method: This study was carried out on 40 volunteers, twenty of them (9 males and 11 females) were patients with type 2 diabetes and twenty (5 males and 15 females) were normal healthy subjects and was served as controls of the study. From each patient a sample of blood was aspirated for detection of peripheral blood lymphocyte apoptosis and for the measurement of the percentage of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). For the control subjects, blood samples were aspirated to detect peripheral blood lymphocyte apoptosis.Results: The percentage of peripheral blood lymphocytes apoptosis increased significantly (P<0.0001) in diabetic patient (15.3±50%) than the percentage in healthy subjects (4.9±1.6%). There was a strong positive correlation between the peripheral blood lymphocytes apoptosis percentage and the percentage of glycated hemoglobin (r=0.56, p<0.01).Conclusion: High blood glucose and in turn increasing blood level of glycated hemoglobin in poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus disease is associated with increased rate of apoptosis of peripheral blood lymphocytes which can be considered as a marker of severity for this disease.Key words: lymphocyte apoptosis, glycated hemoglobin, diabetes mellitus.

الخلاصةالخلفية: ان عمليتي الاستماتة وتكاثر الخلايا هماالمسؤولتان عن تشكيل الانسجة والاعضاء في عملية تكوين الجنين. في الكائنات الحية الطبيعية تكون عمليتا التكاثر والاستماتة في توازن مع بعضها البعض، اما في مرحلة البلوغ, تعتبر الاستماتة عملية دفاعية للجسم للتخلص من الخلايا الهرمة والمتضررة.الهدف من الدراسة: اكتشاف استماتة خلايا الدم اللمفاوية في مرضى النوع الثاني لداء السكري و علاقتها بالنسبة المئوية بالهيموكلوبين السكري و اثر ذلك على نتيجة المرض.طرائق البحث: ان هذه الدراسة اجريت على اربعين شخص, عشرون منهم (9 ذكور و11 اناث) كانوا مشخصين كحالات من النوع الثاني لداء السكري. اما العشرون الاخرون (5 ذكور و 15 اناث) فكانوا اشخاص اصحاء كمجموعة سيطرة لهذه الدراسة. عينات الدم التي اخذت من المرضى كانت للكشف عن الخلايا اللمفاوية المستميتة في مجرى الدم و ايضا لقياس نسبة الهيموكلوبين السكري في الدم، اما مجموعة السيطرة فعينات الدم اخذت للكشف عن الخلايا اللمفاوية المستميتة في مجرى الدم فقط.النتائج: النسبة المئوية للخلايا اللمفاوية المستميتة في مجرى الدم ازدادت بشكل ملحوظ لدى مرضى السكري (15,3±5 )% اكثر من النسبة المئوية لدى الاشخاص الاصحاء (4,9±1,6)% ,(قيمة الاحتمالية اقل من 0,00001)، و كان ايضا هناك علاقة قوية بين النسبة المئوية لاستماتة خلايا الدم اللمفاوية في مرضى النوع الثاني لداء السكري و النسبة المئوية للهيموكلوبين السكري (معامل الترابط=0,56, قيمة الاحتمالية اقل من 0,01).الاستنتاج: ان ارتفاع نسبة السكر في الدم و بالتالي ارتفاع نسبة الهيموكلوبين السكري لحالات النوع الثاني لداء السكري و التي تفتقر السيطرة عليها,يصاحبها ازدياد نسبة الخلايا اللمفاوية المستميتة في مجرى الدم حيث يمكن اعتبار هذه الزيادة كمؤشر يدل على شدة المرض.

lymphocyte apoptosis --- glycated hemoglobin --- diabetes mellitus.

Background: Apoptosis is a physiological type of cell death plays an important role in the regulation and maintenance of cell populations in tissues upon physiological and some pathological conditions.Objective: To evaluate the hormonal status and peripheral blood lymphocyte apoptosis in normal menstruating female during normal menstrual cycle.Methods: 50 healthy menstruating females with regular cycles were studied. Two samples of peripheral blood were aspirated; the first during the ovulation day and the second at the first day of the menstrual cycle. Lymphocyte separation was done; by Trypan blue exclusion test, and the morphological features of lymphocyte apoptosis by the DNA binding dye (Hoechst stains). Hormonal assessments of FSH, LH, Estradiol, and progesterone were also done.Results: Lymphocyte apoptosis in the first day of cycle was (9.31%±1.7) using Trypan blue exclusion test and (9.76%±1.36) using Hoechst stain while at the day of ovulation the percentages were (2.33%±0.7) and (1.38%±0.84) respectively with P value < 0.00001. Serum level of hormones were FSH (5.76±1.77; 9.14±3.34), LH(3.65±1.4; 28.35±18.94), Estradiol (40.05±14.73; 206.38±70.3) and Progesterone (0.35±0.13; 1.41±0.98) in the first day of the menstrual cycle and during ovulation respectively which showed a highly significant difference with P value <0.00001.Conclusion: The increment in the lymphocyte apoptosis in the first day of the menstrual cycle compared with ovulation day is mostly due to low ovarian steroid hormones and gonadotrophins. This might confirm the hypothesis that FSH, LH, estrogen and progesterone act as survival hormones for different tissues including peripheral blood lymphocytes.Key words: Lymphocyte apoptosis, FSH, LH, estrogen, progesterone, Hoechst stains

Lymphocyte apoptosis --- FSH --- LH --- estrogen --- progesterone --- Hoechst stains