The Effect of 8 Weeks of Resistance Training on Gene Expression Lymphocyte Antioxidant Enzymes and Malondialdehyde in Healthy Inactive Men

To protect the body from destructive effects of oxidants, living organisms have an antioxidant system (enzymatic and non-enzymatic). This system can be affected by many factors, including exercise training. The aim of the present research was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of resistance training on gene expression of lymphocyte antioxidant enzymes and malondialdehyde (MDA) in healthy inactive men.
In a semi-experimental study, 20 individuals were selected from male students (age, 20 to 25 years) of Yadegare Imam Khomeini Azad University and randomly assigned to 2 groups of exercise (n=10) and control (n=10). The subjects of the exercise group performed resistance training for 8 weeks (3 non-consecutive sessions per week, 60 minutes per session) with intensity of 40-50% 1RM in first weeks and 70-85% 1RM in last weeks. The focus of training protocol was on the core muscles. Blood samples were taken 72 hours before the start of training and 72 hours after the last training session. Date were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Levin, independent t-, and dependent t-tests (p In this study, resistance training significantly increased the mRNA of SOD enzyme (p=0.022) and decreased the levels of MDA (p=0.001), while had no significant effect on mRNA expression of CAT and GPX (p=0.343 and p=0.373, respectively, for CAT and GPX). Inter-group difference was also seen in MDA levels (p=0.006).
The results of this study indicated that 8 weeks of resistance training could increase SOD gene expression and decrease MDA (As an indicator of lipid peroxidation) without any effect on CAT and GPX gene expression.