α1– Antitrypsin: Anti-inflammatory roles in exercise and atherosclerosis

α1-Antitrypsin, also known as serum trypsin inhibitor, is an acute phase protein that is upregulated in response to tissue damage and infection. More specifically this glycoprotein affords the host protection against enzymes that are released by immune inflammatory cells. The most notable of these enzymes is neutrophil elastase. Neutrophil elastase has the ability to damage vasculature and in doing so may contribute to atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases in which inflammation is an integral component of the pathology. Exercise has recently been defined as anti-inflammatory in nature, however, the complex mechanism underlying this beneficial effect is not fully understood. This paper provides an overview of the roles that α1-antitrypsin may play in atherogenesis, summarises the findings from exercise studies in which α1-antitrypsin was measured, and proposes that transient exercise induced elevations in α1-antitrypsin may potentially contribute to the anti-inflammatory effect of exercise.