Altitude sport training and erythropoiesis

In this paper we report the effect of altitude training on blood erythropoietin levels. Over 1500 meters of altitude, athlete training and competing undergoes acclimatization to environmental hypoxia which, in turn, induces metabolic and cardiorespiratory adaptations. Acclimatization improves endurance performance which is accompanied by an increase (3%) of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) which preserve skeletal muscle structure and function. Studies on molecular mechanisms underlying this adaptation demonstrated that, after 3 weeks at altitude, either circulating erythropoietin and the soluble transferrin receptor levels were significantly increased compared to the values measured at sea level. In addition, hemoglobin concentration also increases indicating anerythropoiesis stimulation. These results demonstrated that improvements in endurance sport performance by altitude training (4 weeks) involves erythropoietin mediated stimulation of erythropoiesis which enhances maximal oxygen transport capacity in athletes. © 2019, DPTZK (Physical Education Pedagogues Association). All rights reserved.