Table 1.
Studies included in the review
| Author, Year Country | Research Question | Design | Sample | Tissue Source | Exercise/Diet/Weight Loss Intervention | MicroRNA Quantitation Method | Normalization Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise | |||||||
| Radom-Aizik, 2010 United States | Does neutrophil miR expression change after brief exs? | quasiexperimental: blood collected at baseline and 30 min post-exs | men age 19–30 yr (n = 11); 7 Caucasian; excluded elite athletes | neutrophils isolated from whole blood | 30 min cycle ergometry intervals (2 min exs followed by 1 min rest × 10 intervals) | Agilent microarray version 2 (826 miRs); qPCR | standardized 100 nanograms total RNA input |
| Baggish, 2011 United States | Does expression of circulating miRs change at rest and during exhaustive exs before and after aerobic training? | quasiexperimental: blood collected at rest and after exhaustive exs pre-/post-exs training | student endurance athletes (n = 10) | plasma | 90 days rowing training | qPCR | exogenous miR-422b spike-in |
| Uhlemann, 2014 Germany | What are the effects of exs on miR-126 and endothelium? | quasiexperimental: blood collected pre- and post-each exs | adult men; n = 13 exs test n = 12 4-hour bicycle n = 22 marathon runners n = 11 resistance exs | plasma | four groups: exs test, 70% max on bicycle × 4 h, marathon, resistance exs | qPCR | C-elegans-39 spike in |
| Aoi, 2013 Japan | Do circulating miRs change in response to acute and chronic exs? | quasiexperimental: blood collected 60 min post-exs test and pre- and post-4 wk intervention | sedentary men (n = 10); mean age 21.5 yr | serum | 30 min cycling 3 times per week for 4 wk | qPCR | miR-16 and C elegans-39 |
| Banzet, 2013 Qatar | Are circulating muscle-specific miRs affected by exs and modality? | quasiexperimental: blood collected pre-/post-exs, after 1, 2, and 3 days | men age 27–36 yr (n = 9); BMI 24.6; currently 1–4 h of exs/week | plasma | uphill (concentric) treadmill and downhill (eccentric) walking exs; 6 wk washout | qPCR | geometric mean of miRs-20a, 103, 21, 192, 185 (derived from GENorm) |
| Bye, 2013 Norway | Which miRs are associated with low vs. high VO2 max? | cross-sectional: blood collected prior to treadmill test | screening sample: high (n = 12) vs. low (n = 12) V̇o2max matched for other cardiovascular risk factors; validation sample: same criteria (n = 76) | serum | treadmill test | array (720 miRs) qPCR | miR-425 |
| Mooren, 2014 Germany | Are miRs associated with aerobic fitness performance capacity? | quasiexperimental: blood collected 2 days premarathon, immediately post-, and 24 h post- | male marathon runners (n = 14) | plasma | treadmill test; marathon | qPCR | C-elegans-39 spike in |
| Sawada, 2013 Japan | Are circulating miRs associated with resistance exs? | quasiexperimental: blood collected pre-0 min, 60 min, 1 day, and 3 days post-exs | men not currently engaged in an exs training program (n = 12) | serum | bench press, bilateral leg press | array qPCR | miR-16 |
| Tonevitsky, 2013 Russia | How does miR change during exs? | quasiexperimental: blood collected pre-exs, 30 min and 60 min post-exs | trained male skiiers (n = 8) | whole blood | treadmill test | Affymetrix array (200 miRs) | n/a |
| Zhou, 2014 China | Does physical activity influence metabolic syndrome risk by influencing miRs? | cross-sectional: self-reported physical activity and miR expression | case-control comparison of individuals with metabolic syndrome (n = 209) compared to controls (n = 234) | serum | metabolic equivalents calculated from physical activity questionnaire | qPCR | C-elegans-39 |
| Baggish, 2014 United States | Are plasma miRs uniquely modulated following sub-max exs? | quasiexperimental: blood collected pre-exs, immediately post- and 24 h post-exs | male marathon runners (n = 24) | plasma | marathon | qPCR | miR-422b |
| Radom-Aizik, 2014 United States | Does brief exs alter monocyte miR expression? | quasiexperimental: blood collected pre- and post-exs | healthy men (n = 12); BMI 26; mean age 26 yr | monocytes isolated from whole blood | cycle ergometry | Agilent array (961 miRs) qPCR | RNU-44 |
| Diet/Weight Loss | |||||||
| Milagro, 2013 Spain | Does miR expression characterize high (≥5% weight loss) vs. low responders to a diet intervention? | quasiexperimental: blood collected at baseline before 8 wk diet intervention | obese women (n = 10) | peripheral blood mononuclear cells | low-calorie (800–880 kcal) diet for 8 wk leading to ≥5% weight loss | SOLiD v4 sequencing qPCR | miR-148a |
| Ortega, 2013 Spain | Are miRs associated with degree of obesity? Do miRs change after weight loss? | quasiexperimental: blood collected at baseline, 14 wk (diet group), and 1-yr (surgery group) | obese men (n = 32 discovery, n = 80 validation); bariatric surgery patients (n = 22); diet intervention patients (n = 9) | plasma | bariatric surgery; low-calorie (500–1,000 kcal/day deficient) diet for 14 wk resulting in 17% weight loss | Agilent array (n = 754) qPCR | panel of most stably expressed miRs |
miR, microRNA; exs, exercise; BMI, body mass index; qPCR, quantitative polymerase chain reaction.