Adv Biomed Res. 2025 Oct 31;14:116. doi: 10.4103/abr.abr_201_24. eCollection 2025.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Obesity stands as a significant contributor to physical disability and is associated with a range of health issues, particularly cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to explore the impact of aerobic exercise on the expression levels of lipo-toxicity genes within the cardiac tissue of obese male rats that have been subjected to a diet high in fat and fructose.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 8 rats): 2 months of standard diet, 2 months of high-fat diet containing fructose (60% fat and 25% fructose diet), and aerobic exercise group (consumed 60% fat food containing 25% fructose; in addition, from the eighth week to the end of the research period, they performed continuous aerobic exercise with an average intensity of 15 m/min for 30 min on a treadmill). At the end of the study, the anthropometrical parameters and markers of obesity and also genes expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1-α), pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4), and mast cell protease-1 (mCPT1) were measured using the real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc test were used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: The expression level of PPARα, PGC1-α, PDK4, and mCPT1 genes in the cardiac tissue of obese rats was significantly lower than that of the healthy control group. Also, the gene expression level of PGC1-α, PDK4, and mCPT1 significantly decreases, whereas the gene expression level of the PPARα increased in the exercise group compared to the obese groups.
CONCLUSION: It seems that aerobic exercise can modulate the expression of PPARα, PGC1-α, PDK4, and mCPT1 genes and improve fat metabolism in cardiac tissue samples. It is suggested that aerobic exercise can be useful for obese patients with cardiovascular problems.
PMID:41307085 | PMC:PMC12646347 | DOI:10.4103/abr.abr_201_24
