Evaluation of the effect of aerobic exercise on UCP1 and MAPK p38 heat factor gene expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue in male Wistar rats fed a high-fat diet

Changes in diet to high-fat and high-calorie diets along with reduced physical activity increase obesity and UCP-1 plays a preventive role against weight gain, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. The present study aimed to evaluation of the effect of aerobic exercise on the expression of UCP1 and MAPK p38 heat gene in subcutaneous adipose tissue in male Wistar rats fed a high-fat diet.

15 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: normal control, high-fat diet control (40% fat), and high-fat diet+aerobic exercise. After 13 weeks of consumption of a high-fat diet, the aerobic exercise group performed the exercise protocol on a treadmill for 12 weeks and 5 sessions per week. UCP1 and MAPK p38 levels were measured using RT-PCR. One-way ANOVA analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis test were used at the level of P≤0.05.

There was no significant difference in UCP-1 mRNA expression between the normal control (P=0.151) and the high-fat diet group but there was a significant difference between the normal control and the high-fat diet+aerobic exercise group (P=0.008). Also, the expression of MAPK p38 in the high-fat diet control had a significant increase compared to the normal control (P=0.008), and a significant decrease in the expression of MAPK P38 in the high-fat diet+aerobic exercise compared to the high-fat diet control was observed (P=0.008).

Aerobic exercise can be a suitable stimulus in the expression of UCP-1. The complexity of MAPK p38 pathway activity is due to its dependence on the type of stimulus and the cell.