Distinct genome-wide salivary DNA methylation changes following superset and repeated sprint training in youth male basketball players
7 affiliations
- 1University School of Health and Sport (EUSES), University of Girona
- 2Research Group of Culture, Education and Human Development, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Educational Research Institute, University of Girona
- 3Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
- 4Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute
- 5Cancer Epigenetics Group, Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC)
- 6Genomics Unit, Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC)
- 7Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red Cancer (CIBERONC)
Abstract
Understanding the process of adaptation remains a key challenge for strength and conditioning coaches to enhance basketball athletic performance. While physical performance improvements are often used to track progress, these changes originate from various molecular mechanisms, with DNA methylation potentially playing a pivotal role in training-induced adaptations. This study aimed to investigate genome-wide DNA methylation changes following one weekly 30-min Superset (SST) and Repeated Sprint Training (RST) over eight weeks, in youth basketball players. Sixty-two male youth basketball players (U-13 to U-18) completed pre- and post-intervention assessments of explosive strength, aerobic fitness, speed and agility, along with saliva sampling for DNA methylation analysis. Participants were randomized into SST or RST groups, completing 30-min weekly sessions over 8 weeks alongside regular basketball training. DNA methylation was profiled using the Illumina 930 K (EPIC v2) microarray. The SST and RST resulted in 112 and 308 differentially methylated positions (DMPs), respectively, from which 76% and 73% were hypomethylated. Enrichment analysis revealed multiple pathways in saliva-derived cells including: mTOR, PI3K-Akt and cAMP signalling for SST, and VEGFA, IGF receptor, BDNF, angiogenesis, vascular development, NF-κB, MAPK and PI3K-Akt signalling pathways for RST. The changes in DNA methylation following 30-min weekly SST and RST sessions over 8 weeks, together with enrichment analysis revealing distinct molecular pathways in saliva for each training intervention, provide preliminary evidence that different training modalities may elicit distinct epigenetic responses. These findings provide a descriptive characterization of salivary DNA methylation responses to SST and RST in youth basketball players and identify potential epigenetic signatures associated with different training stimuli.
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BibTeX
@article{sacot2026distinct,
title = {{Distinct genome-wide salivary DNA methylation changes following superset and repeated sprint training in youth male basketball players}},
author = {Arnau Sacot and Víctor López-Ros and Fidanka Vasileva and Julio Calleja-González and Jordi Barretina and Aleix Noguera-Castells and Raquel Pluvinet and Manel Esteller and Anna Prats-Puig},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-61770-6},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61770-6},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Distinct genome-wide salivary DNA methylation changes following superset and repeated sprint training in youth male basketball players
AU - Arnau Sacot
AU - Víctor López-Ros
AU - Fidanka Vasileva
AU - Julio Calleja-González
AU - Jordi Barretina
AU - Aleix Noguera-Castells
AU - Raquel Pluvinet
AU - Manel Esteller
AU - Anna Prats-Puig
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-61770-6
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61770-6
AB - Understanding the process of adaptation remains a key challenge for strength and conditioning coaches to enhance basketball athletic performance. While physical performance improvements are often used to track progress, these changes originate from various molecular mechanisms, with DNA methylation potentially playing a pivotal role in training-induced adaptations. This study aimed to investigate genome-wide DNA methylation changes following one weekly 30-min Superset (SST) and Repeated Sprint Training (RST) over eight weeks, in youth basketball players. Sixty-two male youth basketball players (U-13 to U-18) completed pre- and post-intervention assessments of explosive strength, aerobic fitness, speed and agility, along with saliva sampling for DNA methylation analysis. Participants were randomized into SST or RST groups, completing 30-min weekly sessions over 8 weeks alongside regular basketball training. DNA methylation was profiled using the Illumina 930 K (EPIC v2) microarray. The SST and RST resulted in 112 and 308 differentially methylated positions (DMPs), respectively, from which 76% and 73% were hypomethylated. Enrichment analysis revealed multiple pathways in saliva-derived cells including: mTOR, PI3K-Akt and cAMP signalling for SST, and VEGFA, IGF receptor, BDNF, angiogenesis, vascular development, NF-κB, MAPK and PI3K-Akt signalling pathways for RST. The changes in DNA methylation following 30-min weekly SST and RST sessions over 8 weeks, together with enrichment analysis revealing distinct molecular pathways in saliva for each training intervention, provide preliminary evidence that different training modalities may elicit distinct epigenetic responses. These findings provide a descriptive characterization of salivary DNA methylation responses to SST and RST in youth basketball players and identify potential epigenetic signatures associated with different training stimuli.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -