The Effect of Progressive Resistance and Endurance Training on Gastrocnemius Muscle’s FNDC5 Gene Expression in Male Rats

Background and Fibronectin transmembrane type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5) is a characteristic factor in distinguishing skeletal muscle cells. Since the productive effects of regular exercise are conveyed through the skeletal muscle, this study aims to compare the effects of progressive endurance and resistance training on FNDC5 gene expression in male rats’ gastrocnemius muscles. 15 male rats were randomly assigned to three equal groups of: control, endurance training and resistance training. The endurance group performed 8 weeks of training on the treadmill. The resistance group did their exercises for eight weeks on a three-session-per-week basis on a one-meter-high ladder with 85○ slope. All subjects were anesthetized 72 hours after the experiment finished and the gastrocnemius removed. The level of FNDC5 expression was measured through real-time PCR method and one-way ANOVA applied to analyze the data. Level of significance was set to P≥0.05. One-way ANOVA showed a significant difference in FNDC5 expression among the groups (P=0.001, F=31.791). A subsequent Tukey test application showed FNDC5 gene expression of the gastrocnemius muscle was significantly higher in the resistance and endurance training groups than in the control group (P