Irisin Pathways in Hearts of Type 1 Diabetic Adult Male Rats Following 6 Weeks of Moderate and High-Volume Aerobic Exercise on a Treadmill

Abstract

Purpose Exercise-mediated protection from cardiomyopathy in diabetes through myokines raises the question of what volume of exercise should be performed. Irisin pathway molecules (consisting of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1 alpha), irisin, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-alpha (PPAR-alpha) and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)), which have been shown to be mostly expressed in the heart, are thought to have beneficial effects on diabetic heart. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of different exercise protocols on irisin pathway in Type 1 diabetic heart. Methods Diabetic (60 mg/kg streptozotocin i.p.) and healthy Wistar Albino rats (n = 60) were trained under moderate and high-volume exercise protocols on rat treadmill for 6 weeks. After killing, mRNA transcript and protein abundance of PGC-1 alpha, irisin, PPAR-alpha, and UCP1 were determined in the left ventricles of healthy and diabetic rats. Results PPAR-alpha, FNDC5, and UCP1 mRNA levels increased significantly in healthy moderate-volume exercise group (HMVE) compared to healthy high-volume exercise (HHVE) and diabetic moderate-volume exercise groups (DMVE). Moreover, protein levels of irisin and UCP1 also elevated significantly in the diabetic high-volume exercise group (DHVE) compared to the healthy control group (HC), although there was no significant difference between the groups in PPAR-alpha. Conclusion Irisin and UCP1 protein values increased due to HHEV in the heart of Type 1 diabetic rats, but PPAR-alpha values did not change; it shows that HHEV is suitable for the heart of Type 1 diabetic rats in terms of the benefits of the pathway of irisin.