Effect of 12 Weeks of Treadmill Aerobic Training on Cytochrome c and Caspase-9 gene Expression in Cardiac Muscle of Male Rats

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Apoptosis plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases, especially heart failure. Some evidences suggest that exercise training may alter apoptosis-related signaling in somatic tissues such as the myocardium. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of 12 weeks of treadmill aerobic training on cytochrome c and caspase-9 gene expression in cardiac muscle of male rats.   Methods: This study was conducted as a two-group experimental design project (animal model) on 16 3-month-old male rats. Animals were randomly divided into two homogeneous groups of aerobic training and control (8 animals each). Animals of the training group underwent an aerobic training program for 12 weeks (75-80% VO2max). Forty-eight hours after the last training session, their hearts were extracted and cytochrome c and caspase-9 genes, were evaluated by RT-PCR. Data were analyzed using independent t-test at the significance level of p<0.05.   Results: Cytochrome c gene expression in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group (140.62%, p<0.05). The expression of caspase-9 gene, was also significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group (333.92%, p<0.05).   Conclusion: Overall, it seems that 2-weeks of aerobic training on treadmill has a significant effect on the increased the expression of key genes of the cardiac mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. However, the underlying mechanisms of these effects are unclear and require further researches.  

Keywords

• aerobic exercise
• myocardium
• apoptosis