Serum Sclerostin Increases After Acute Physical Activity

Physical activity has a major impact on bone density and on osteoporosis prevention. Sclerostin is produced by osteocytes and inhibits bone formation. The impact of exercise on sclerostin secretion has not been studied so far. This pilot study aimed to explore circulating sclerostin levels immediately after acute exercise. Healthy young women practicing physical activity less than 120 min per week were enrolled. The exercise was a 45-min, low-speed, treadmill running test. Blood samples were taken at rest before exercise and within 5 min after the end of exercise. We assessed serum creatinine, 25-OH vitamin D, alkaline phosphatase, C-telopeptide of type I collagen, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, and sclerostin. Sclerostin stability at rest was also validated over the same period of time among women fulfilling the same inclusion criteria. The study included 23 participants (mean ± SD age: 22.9 ± 1.5 years) for the exercise test and 9 participants for the resting test (26.1 ± 3.1 years). There was no difference in body mass index between the two groups. Sclerostin increased after exercise in comparison to baseline (mean ± SEM: 410 ± 27 vs. 290 ± 19 pg/mL; p < 0.001) corresponding to an increase of +44.3 ±5.5%. In the resting test, sclerostin remained stable (303 ± 20 vs. 294 ± 20 pg/mL, p = 0.76). There was a substantial increase in serum sclerostin in untrained healthy young women immediately after physical activity. These results suggest the existence of an acute release of systemic sclerostin in response to physical activity.