The Effect of High Intensity Interval training and Moderate Intensity Continuous Training on Mitochondrial Content and PGC-1α of Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue in Male Rats with High Fat Diet Induced Obesity

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) on mitochondrial content and PGC-1α of subcutaneous adipose tissue in obese male rats. 40 male rats after inducing obesity with high fat diet (for 10 weeks), 8 rats from the high-fat diet group (O) and 8 rats of the standard diet group (C) were sacrificed and other obese rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: obesity control (OC), moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) and high intensity interval training (HIIT). The HIIT protocol included 10 bouts of 4-min. activity with the intensity equivalent to 85-90% vo2max and 2-min. active rest intervals. MICT protocol was carried out with the intensity of 65-70% VO2max with a covered distance similar to HIIT protocol for 12 weeks and 5 sessions per week. Western Blot method was used to measure PGC-1α and RT-PCR method was applied to measure mtDNA gene expression. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, ANCOVA and Bonferroni tests. The level of significance was considered as P≤0.05. The results of data analysis showed that HIIT and MICT drastically increased protein contents of PGC-1α and mtDNA expression (P<0.05). However, HIIT had more effects (P<0.05). Generally, it seems that HIIT and MICT increase mitochondrial biogenesis in subcutaneous adipose tissue while the effects of HIIT are drastically higher.