The effects of long-term moderate exercise and Western-type diet on oxidative/nitrosative stress, serum lipids and cytokines in female Sprague Dawley rats

Abstract

Purpose Regular exercise reduces obesity and the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, health-promoting benefits of physical activity are commonly associated with increased inflammation and oxidative stress. Here, we tested whether constant moderate exercise is able to prevent or attenuate the oxidative/nitrosative stress, inflammation, and serum lipids in lean and obese rats. Methods Four-month-old female Sprague Dawley rats received standard or a high-fat diet. Animals were subjected to a physical activity protocol, consisting of 30 min forced treadmill exercise for 5 consecutive days per week during 10 months. Baseline and sedentary (non-exercised) rats were used as controls. Lipids, oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, nitric oxide metabolites, and pro- and anti-inflammatory markers were measured in blood collected upon euthanasia. Results At variance to young baseline control rats, 14-month-old animals fed normal diet had increased plasma lipid levels, including total cholesterol and triglycerides, which were further elevated in rats that consumed a high-fat diet. While treadmill exercise did not lower the amount of serum lipids in standard diet group, forced physical activity reduced non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in response to high-fat diet feeding. Exercised rats fed standard diet or high-fat diet had lower abundancy of nitric oxide metabolites, which coincided with increased levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Accordingly, the amount of nitric oxide metabolites correlated inversely with oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and homo-arginine. Exercise significantly reduced inflammatory cytokines in high-fat diet fed rats only. Conclusion Our study suggests that regular exercise alters the equilibrium between oxidative and anti-oxidative compounds and reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 reverses gut metabolic dysfunction induced by Western diet in adult rats

“…Moreover, in agreement with us, unchanged TNF-α levels were found by Bedoui and colleagues in male rats fed for 10 weeks with a high-fat diet ( 71 ), and by Semeraro and colleagues in female rats fed for 10 months with a high-fat diet ( 72 ). These changes suggest additional damage to intestinal cell function and structure.…”

Voluntary Exercise Eliminates Maternal Gestational Hypertension–Induced Hypertensive Response Sensitization to Postweaning High-Fat Diet in Male Adult Offspring

“…[24][25][26] Extensive studies have demonstrated that exercise protects against cardiovascular dysfunction produced by obesity/HFD including improvement of baroreflex sensitivity, a reduction of sympathetic activity and attenuations of BP and HR through modifications of prohypertensive RAS and inflammatory responses. [7][8][9][10]14,15,17,19,35 Consistent with this, we found that 10 weeks of exercise reduced cardiac sympathetic activity and increased cardiac vagal activity and spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity leading to decreases in heart rate, decreased plasma levels of ANG II and leptin and attenuated pressor responses to centrally administered ANG II and leptin. These functional changes were accompanied by reduction of upregulated expression of most prohypertensive genes and a marker of BBB permeability in the PVN in HFD-fed offspring of both normotensive and hypertensive dams.…”

“…[7][8][9] The underlying mechanisms have been associated with the inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and inflammation in the heart and adipose tissue and in brain regions involved in cardiometabolic regulation including the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] There are few recent studies exploring the effect of exercise on the adverse effects in offspring produced by prenatal challenges. [18][19][20] In the male offspring of mothers fed a HFD during gestation and lactation, a short period of early postweaning exercise had lasting beneficial effects on body weight, visceral fat, and hormonal profile such as leptin, insulin, and triglyceride.…”

Evaluating the role of muscular exercise in modulating the progress of peptic ulcer treated by quercetin or dexilant in male albino rats

“…Mechanism by which moderate physical activity reduced increased levels of gastric ADMA via its antioxidant, anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptotic properties (Semeraro et al, 2022). In addition to increase HSP70 (Nakhjavani et al, 2012) as shown in our results.…”