The Effect of Eight Weeks of Moderate Intensity Aerobic Training on the Gene Expression of N-cadherin and β-catenin Proteins in the Left Ventricle of the Rat's Heart

Studies have shown that exercise stimulates cardiac proteins, and regular moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can have a significant effect on cardiac proteins. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of aerobic training on expression of mRNA N-cadherin and β-catenin genes in left ventricle of cardiac muscle in male Wistar rats.

24 male Wistar rats (8 weeks old) with an average weight of 237 ± 33 g randomly divided to three equal groups of control, 8-weeks control, and aerobic training. Aerobic training group participated in an aerobic training for 8 weeks (5 sessions of 20-60 minutes each week, with an intensity of 65% of maximum oxygen consumption) running on animal treadmill (0% incline and 24 m/s), and there was no change in the normal activity cycle of the control group. 24 hours after the last training session, the heart tissue of rat was extracted, and the expression of mRNA β-catenin and N-cadherin genes was evaluated using real-time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey methods.

Expression of mRNA β-catenin and N-cadherin gene proteins (P = 0.001) and maximal oxygen uptake (P = 0.001) increased significantly in aerobic exercise group.

It seems that significant changes in expression of mRNA β-catenin and N-cadherin gene, as well as an increase in VO2max may make a positive impact on optimal heart activity.