Exercise training seems to promote healthy biological ageing partly by inducing telomere maintenance, yet the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Recent studies have emphasised the importance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in ageing and their ability to mirror pathophysiological alterations associated with age-related diseases. We examined the association between aerobic fitness and leukocyte telomere length before determining the influence of vigorous exercise training on the regulation of leukocyte miRNA networks. Telomere length was positively correlated to aerobic fitness (r = 0.32, p = 0.02). 104 miRNAs were differentially expressed after six weeks of thrice-weekly sprint interval training (SIT) in healthy men (q < 0.05). Gene co-expression analysis (WGCNA) detected biologically meaningful miRNA networks, five of which were significantly correlated with pre-SIT and post-SIT expression profiles (p < 0.001) and telomere length. Enrichment analysis revealed that the immune response, T cell differentiation and lipid metabolism associated miRNAs clusters were significantly down-regulated after SIT. Using data acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), we also identified two co-expressed miRNAs families that were modulated by exercise training in previous investigations. Collectively, our findings highlight the miRNA networks implicated in exercise adaptations and telomere regulation, and suggest that SIT may attenuate biological ageing through the control of the let-7 and miR-320 miRNA families.

运动训练似乎部分通过诱导端粒维持来促进健康的生物衰老，但其分子机制尚不完全清楚。最近的研究强调了 microRNA (miRNA) 在衰老中的重要性以及它们反映与年龄相关疾病相关的病理生理变化的能力。在确定剧烈运动训练对白细胞 miRNA 网络调节的影响之前，我们检查了有氧健身和白细胞端粒长度之间的关联。端粒长度与有氧健康呈正相关（r = 0.32，p = 0.02）。健康男性在每周三次的短跑间歇训练 (SIT) 六周后，有 104 个 miRNA 出现差异表达 ( q< 0.05)。基因共表达分析 (WGCNA) 检测到具有生物学意义的 miRNA 网络，其中五个与 SIT 前和 SIT 后的表达谱 ( p < 0.001) 和端粒长度显着相关。富集分析显示，免疫反应、T 细胞分化和脂质代谢相关的 miRNA 簇在 SIT 后显着下调。使用从 Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) 获得的数据，我们还确定了两个共同表达的 miRNAs 家族，这些家族在以前的调查中受到运动训练的调节。总的来说，我们的研究结果突出了与运动适应和端粒调节有关的 miRNA 网络，并表明 SIT 可能通过控制 let-7 和 miR-320 miRNA 家族来减轻生物衰老。