The role of physical exercise on inflammatory profile in chronic renal disease: An overview of the current literature

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an irreversible and progressive clinical syndrome that affects more than 800 million people worldwide, and is caused by structural kidney damage. This condition is associated with increased systemic inflammation, which may be related to an imbalance of purinergic signaling. Physical exercise can modulate the purinergic system and inflammation, and has been used as a possible therapy to mitigate and prevent the progression of CKD; however, the specific effects that each physical activity protocol generates on the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines are not known, nor is there clear evidence about the specific involvement of purinergic signaling components in mediating these inflammatory responses. By analyzing exercise protocols in patients with CKD and their impact on cytokine expression, this review discusses how different protocols affect inflammatory cytokine expression in CKD patients, with a particular focus on the mediating role of purinergic signaling.