𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃?

 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥?

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐄/𝐂𝐅𝐒 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃.

Posted with the author’s permission: https://twitter.com/manruipa/status/1732446880297030128

How does reactive oxygen species affect cells?

ROS can affect cellular macromolecules, thus inducing genomic instability and mutations, thereby implying their role in the initiation of cancer. For example, a well-established role is in chronic inflammation, where ROS derived by myeloid cells induce epithelial mutagenesis, thus stimulating invasive growth.

In the context of aerobic and microaerophilic bacteria, we can draw an analogy with healthy people and those suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Long COVID. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚, like healthy people, thrive in oxygen-rich environments and have a robust antioxidant system to counteract reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during metabolism.

In contrast, 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚, comparable to individuals with ME or Long COVID, possess deficient antioxidant enzymes, which limits their ability to inhabit environments with high oxygen concentrations.

In the case of patients with ME or Long COVID, having a chronic infection, they experience a constant increase in metabolism and an increase in immune activity, generating a greater amount of ROS. This situation leads to a saturation of their antioxidant system, making them more susceptible to any stimulus that involves an increase in oxygen consumption, such as physical exercise or intense mental activities.

Unlike healthy individuals, who can benefit from 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 by increasing the production of antioxidant enzymes on rest days, patients with ME or Long COVID face a constant challenge due to the persistence of chronic infection.

Thus, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲, as these patients do not experience resting periods of infection, resulting in continued saturation of their antioxidant system and increased vulnerability to the detrimental effects of increased ROS.

In this context, the use of 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 could be counterproductive by increasing oxygen concentration, generating more ROS and aggravating symptoms.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬?

𝐀𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐱𝐲𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 (𝐑𝐎𝐒) compared to anaerobic exercise due to the increased flow of oxygen during metabolic reactions.

During aerobic exercise, the body uses oxygen to break down nutrients and produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main source of cellular energy.

This process involves a series of reactions in the electron transport chain in the mitochondria, where oxygen plays a crucial role. However, a small fraction of electrons can escape from this system and react with oxygen, generating ROS as by-products. This phenomenon is known as "electron leakage" and is more pronounced in situations of high oxygen flux, such as those that occur during aerobic exercise.

In contrast, during 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞, which involves high-intensity, short-duration activities, the body resorts to energy sources that are not highly dependent on oxygen. By not requiring constant oxygen delivery for ATP generation, anaerobic metabolic reactions generate less ROS compared to aerobic reactions.

Unlike strict aerobic and microaerophilic bacteria, which lack the ability to perform anaerobic processes in oxygen-depleted environments, our cells can efficiently adapt to various metabolic demands and physical activities by performing anaerobiosis. This contrast highlights the unique flexibility of our cells compared to bacteria, as our organism can maintain a healthy balance without generating excessive levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during these anaerobic processes.

In summary, aerobic exercise involves a greater participation of oxygen in metabolic reactions, which can result in a higher production of ROS compared to anaerobic exercise.

This is the reason why there are patients with mild symptoms or in the recovery phase of ME/cfs and Long COVID who can start doing 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞. This would only occur in those patients who are on antiviral treatments for example, or who are in the recovery phase with other therapies.

However, patients without specific treatment for chronic infection, or those for whom these therapies have no effect, may face difficulties even in performing anaerobic exercise. This is because persistent oxidative stress and saturation of the antioxidant system may be so high that they would not effectively counteract the mild damage caused by this type of physical activity.

For this reason, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝.