Similar increases of PGC-1α gene expression in the soleus muscle of healthy male rats following high intensity interval and aerobic training

The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and aerobic training (AT) on PGC-1α gene expression in the soleus muscle of healthy adult male rats. 18 Wistar male rats were divided into three groups: HIIT (n=6)، AT (n=6) and the control group (n=6). After 2 weeks of adaptation، the exercise protocol started and lasted for 8 weeks. The HIIT protocol was a 6 minute warm-up (50%-60% VO2max)، 3 frequencies (4 minutes on 90%-100% VO2max and 2 minutes on 50%-60% VO2max) and 6 minutes of cooling down on 60-50% of VO2max and AT protocol was a 6 minute warm-up (50%-60% VO2max)، main body which lasted for 30 minutes (70%-75% VO2max) and 6 minutes of cooling down (50%-60% VO2max). 24 hours after the last workout session، muscle samples were extracted and the expression level of the mentioned variable was measured by RT-PCR. The results marked that PGC-1α gene expression was increased significantly (P≤0. 05) after 8 weeks of HIIT and AT، and there were no remarkable differences between the types of exercise. Based on these findings، HIIT and AT have almost the same impact on increasing the muscle PGC-1α gene expression in rats’ soleus muscle.