The Effect of Eight Weeks of Combined High Intensity Interval Training on Intrahepatic PGC-1α and PEPCK Protein in Male Rats with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA Student of Sports Nutrition, Zand Institution of Higher Education, Shiraz, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Sports Physiology, Department of Sports Sciences, Zand Institution of Higher Education, Shiraz, Iran.

3 Stem Cells Technology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

4 PhD Student of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Department of Sports Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the non-communicable metabolic diseases with high prevalence worldwide. Therefore, treatment strategies for this disease are very important. This research aimed to examine the effect of eight weeks of combined high-intensity interval training on intrahepatic PGC-1α and PEPCK protein in male rats with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Methods: Forty rats aged 6 to 8 weeks were divided into two groups: healthy (n=20) and high-fat diet (HFD) (n=20). After eight weeks and assurance of disease induction, the HFD group was randomly divided into two groups: control-patient (n=9) and training-patient (n=9). The healthy group was divided into two groups: control-healthy (n=9) and training-healthy (n=9). Rats in the training group performed HIIT in both aquatic and land environments (Saturdays and Wednesdays in aquatic environment and Mondays on a treadmill). One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni's post hoc test (P<0.05) were run to determine the difference between groups.  Results: The findings showed that intrahepatic PGC-1α protein levels were associated with a significant increase in the healthy control group compared to the patient control (P=0.04); also, intrahepatic PEPCK protein levels were associated with a significant increase in the control-healthy group compared to the control-patient (P=0.01) group, a significant increase in the training-healthy group compared to the control-patient (P=0.002) and training-patient (P=0.03) groups and a significant increase in the training-patient group compared to the control-patient (P=0.03) group. Conclusion: It can be suggested that combined high intensity interval training can be effective in regulating the PGC-1α/PEPCK mechanism, which is a potential mechanism in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in the liver. However, further research is needed in this regard to obtain conclusive results.

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