The effect of six weeks of voluntary wheel running exercise on hepatic superoxide dismutase levels and apoptosis-inducing factor after doxorubicin administration in aging model rats

Abstract

Background: In the last decade, cancer incidence increases progressively with age and older patients cannot participate in treatment programs due to the special physical condition and side effects of anti-tumor drugs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of six-week voluntary wheel running exercise on doxorubicin (DOX)-induced hepatotoxicity in aging model rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two Wistar male rats were randomly assigned to exercise and control groups with 4 subgroups. All subjects received a daily injection of D-galactose for nine weeks (100 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally). The training protocol included six weeks of voluntary wheel running exercise. Doxorubicin was administrated intraperitoneally (1mg/kg/day) for 15 days. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) levels were measured after liver tissue homogenization by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results: Administration of cumulative dose of DOX caused no significant decrease in SOD and AIF levels (P=0.797, and P=0.869, respectively). Six weeks of voluntary wheel running exercise led to insignificant decrease in SOD and insignificant increase in AIF in comparison to the control group (P=0.377, and P=0.948, respectively). Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the six-week voluntary wheel running exercise has no significant effect on DOX-induced hepatotoxicity in aging model rats.

Keywords

• Voluntary exercise
• Doxorubicin
• Hepatic toxicity
• Oxidative stress
• Apoptosis