The Effect of Hypobaric Hypoxia following 6 Weeks of High Intensity Interval Training on the Levels of SP-A in Lungs of Male Wistar Rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hypobaric hypoxia following six weeks of high intensity interval training on the levels of SP-A in lungs of male Wistar rats. 20 rats (3 weeks old, mean weight 68 ± 9 g) were randomly divided to 4 groups: control 6 weeks (n=5), control 9 weeks (n=5), training 6 weeks (n=5) and training + hypobaric hypoxia (n=5) after 2 weeks of familiarity with the environment. Interval training group performed the program for six weeks, 5 sessions a week, each session 30 minutes at a speed of 15-70 m/min. The rats in hypobaric hypoxia group lived in rodent hypoxia chamber from week 7 to week 9 after the end of the training period. ELISA kit was used to measure the levels of lung SP-A. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA at P≤0.05. The results showed that SP-A levels increased significantly in the 6 week training group compared with the control group while the SP-A levels in the hypoxia group significantly decreased compared with the control and training groups. Regarding the significant reduction of SP-A levels in the hypobaric hypoxia group, it seems that the interval hypoxia induced adaptation has been properly able to inhibit the pathophysiologic effects of high intensity interval training, to improve inflammatory markers and lung cell injury and strengthen lung immune system, which requires further research in this field.