Effects of High Intensity Interval Training and Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training on VEGF Gene Expression in Visceral and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissues of Male Wistar Rats

The purpose of present study was to investigate the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues in male Wistar rats.
For this experimental study, 24 male Wistar rats (250±20 gram) were divided in to 4 groups (n=6 each) basal control (n=6), 8 week controls (n=6), MICT (n=6), and HIIT (n=6) groups. The training program was running on the 4 treadmill for 8 weeks/5 days per week. Intensity of the MICT protocol was 50-75% of VO2max, and the duration was approxinately 15 to 60 minutes, which progressively increased. The HIIT protocol was 4-8×1 min with 70-100% of VO2 max and 1 min recovery with 50-70% VO2max, for a total duration of 15 to 23 minutes. Adipose tissue samples were removed 48 hours after the last training session and VEGF gene expression was measured by Real-Time PCR methods.
Results indicated that both MICT and HIIT induced significant increase in subcutaneous VEGF gene expression (P≤0.05), whereas, no significant changes in visceral VEGF gene expression were observed after either training protocol (P≥0.05).
Based on findings, the MICT protocol, HIIT exercise training in particular, has more effects on subcutaneous adipose tissue angiogenesis than on visceral adipose tissue.