Distinct DNA Methylation Changes Following A Superset And Repeated Sprint Training Intervention In Youth Male Basketball Players: A Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Study

Saliva samples collected pre- and post-intervention were analysed using Illumina 900K (EPIC v2) microarray. Differentially methylated positions (DMPs) were identified using linear modelling (FDR < 0.05). Biological relevance was further assessed using a Δβ threshold of 0.1.

Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis (Metascape) was conducted to identify biological pathways potentially modified by the intervention. SS and RST resulted in 112 and 308 DMPs (76 and 73% hypomethylation), respectively, alongside performance improvements. Methylation changes did not reach biological significance threshold (Δβ<0.1).

Enrichment analysis for SS identified mTOR, PI3K-Akt and cAMP signalling pathways, whereas enrichment for RST identified VEGF, IGF receptor, MAPK, PI3K-Akt, NF-κB and TGF-β signalling pathways While the magnitude of methylation change (Δβ) was below the threshold commonly considered biologically significant, the presence of DMPs, alongside performance improvements, demonstrated epigenetic changes after high-intensity, 8-week interventions (SS or RST), with enrichment analysis indicating distinct molecular pathways engaged by each training type.