The effect of 12 weeks endurance training and high fat diet on gene expression of β3-adrenergic and cyclic adenosine monophosphate receptors of brown adipose tissue in obese male rats

Endurance training can be associated with reducing body fat. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks progressive endurance training and high fat diet on gene expression of β3-Adrenergic (β3-ARs) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP-r) receptors of brown adipose tissue in obese male Wistar rats.

Fifteen male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups (n=5) including endurance training with high fat diet group, control group with normal diet and control group with high fat diet. High fat diet was composed of 40% fat, 13% protein and 47% carbohydrate. The endurance training included running at speed of 20 m/min for 15 min in 1st week and reached to 25 min for 31 min/day in 12th weeks.  The gene expression of β3-ARs and cAMP-r were examined by RT & PCR methods. To compare the cAMP-r and β3-ARs between groups, the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests was applied at the significant level of p<0.05.

There was no significant difference in cAMP-r gene expression (p=0.47) between control groups with high fat diet, control group with normal diet and endurance training group with high fat diet, but there was a significant difference in the expression of β3-ARs gene (p=0.03) between the groups and these changes was higher in the endurance training group with high fat diet than the control groups with normal and high fat diet.

The results of the present study showed the effect of moderate-intensity endurance training with high-fat diet on β3-ARs gene expression, which can lead to increase energy consumption and also reduce the obesity. However, changes in cAMP-r gene expression indicate a non-significant improvement, which may be reflected changes in the intensity and duration of training in future research.