Jorjani Biomedicine Journal (Dec 2023)
Exploring the effects of aerobic exercise combined with chitosan nanoparticle-encapsulated ginger on miRNA-214 and SERCA2a in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in rats
Abstract
Background: Aerobic exercise and ginger after myocardial infarction (MI) modify calcium handling. Ginger has cardioprotective effects on cardiovascular disease. This study assessed the effects of aerobic exercise combined with ginger extract (GE) loaded into chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) on miRNA-214, Serca2a, and Anp genes and cardiac fibrosis in myocardial infarction (MI) rat models. Methods: Twenty-five male rats divided into 5 groups were subjected to ginger treatment and exercise. Aerobic exercises (AE) were performed on a rodent treadmill 5 days per week for 6 weeks. The GE-CNPs (500 mg/kg) were orally administered to the rats for 6 weeks. The expressions of miRNA-214, Serca2a, and Anp genes were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The histopathological assessments were performed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson's trichrome staining. The serum activities of creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were also measured by ELISA. Results: The MI model and CNP groups had the highest rate of collagen deposition (P <0.05). The serum activities of both CK-MB and LDH were significantly elevated in the Isop group compared to the control (P<0.05), while following aerobic exercise and ginger treatment, their activity was significantly dropped in the Isop + AE + GE-CNPs group. The expression of miRNA-214 showed a significant increase in GE-CNPs (P <0.01) and GE-CNPs + AE (P <0.001) groups. Serca2a and Anp genes showed significant changes in the GE-CNPs + AE group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Our findings revealed that aerobic exercise, along with ginger treatment, improved cardiac fibrosis, modulating the expression levels of miRNA-214, Serca2a, and Anp genes and serum levels of MI biomarkers.
