Increasing heat storage by wearing extra clothing during upper body exercise up-regulates heat shock protein 70 but does not modify the cytokine response.

Plasma heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) concentrations rise during heat stress, which can independently induce cytokine production. Upper body exercise normally results in modest body temperature elevations. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of additional clothing on the body temperature, cytokine and HSP70 responses during this exercise modality. Thirteen males performed 45-min constant-load arm cranking at 63% maximum aerobic power (62 ± 7%V̇O2peak) in either a non-permeable whole-body suit (intervention, INT) or shorts and T-shirt (control, CON). Exercise resulted in a significant increase of IL-6 and IL-1ra plasma concentrations (P < 0.001), with no difference between conditions (P > 0.19). The increase in HSP70 from pre to post was only significant for INT (0.12 ± 0.11ng∙mL-1, P < 0.01 vs. 0.04 ± 0.18 ng∙mL-1, P = 0.77). Immediately following exercise, Tcore was elevated by 0.46 ± 0.29 (INT) and 0.37 ± 0.23ºC (CON), respectively (P < 0.01), with no difference between conditions (P = 0.16). The rise in mean Tskin (2.88 ± 0.50 and 0.30 ± 0.89ºC, respectively) and maximum heat storage (3.24 ± 1.08 and 1.20 ± 1.04 J∙g-1, respectively) was higher during INT (P < 0.01). Despite large differences in heat storage between conditions, the HSP70 elevations during INT, even though significant, were very modest. Possibly, the Tcore elevations were too low to induce a more pronounced HSP70 response to ultimately affect cytokine production.