The Effect of Eight Weeks of Aerobic Training Combined With Resveratrol on MFn1 and MFn2 Expression in Cardiac Myocytes in a Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Animal Model

 Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common chronic liver disorder. The present study aimed to examine the effect of aerobic training along with Resveratrol on the cardiac expression of Mfn1 and Mfn2 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease male rats.

 In this experimental study, 48 Wistar male rats were classified into two groups NAFLD (n=40) and control-normal (n=8). NAFLD was induced in rats with a high-fat diet and then subdivided into five subgroups NAFLD, SHAM, TRNAF, SUPNAF, and TRSUPNAF. Training groups have performed a running program on a motor-driven treadmill for eight weeks. Resveratrol (20 mg/kg) was injected into the SUPNAF and TRSUPNAF groups. Forty-eight hours after the last training session, the rats were anatomized; hearts were removed and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C for measuring the Mfn1 and Mfn2. Statistical analysis was performed using a 1-way analysis of variance Tukey post hoc tests, and significance was accepted at P≤0.05.

 The results showed that the induction of NAFLD reduced expression of Mfn1 (P=0.001) and Mfn2 (P=0.001) compared to control-normal. Also, in SUPNAF and RSUPNAF groups, Mfn1 (P=0.002 and P=0.017 respectively) and Mfn2 (P=0.000 and P=0.000 respectively) increased significantly compared to the NAFLD group.

 The combination of aerobic exercise and resveratrol may be due to changes in expression of mitochondrial fusion, modifying indexes apoptosis induced by oxidative stress in NAFLD patients.