Improvement of Angiogenic Biomarkers Following Aerobic Training in Rats With Experimental Myocardial Infarction

The present study aimed to compare 4 weeks of exercise (EXE) on the plasma levels of angiogenic markers in male and female rats with experimental myocardial infarction (MI).

Forty male and female Wistar rats were randomly and equally divided into 4 groups: male MI, male MI + EXE, female MI, and female MI + EXE. Subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol (150 mg/kg) was used to induce MI. The training groups performed an endurance training protocol on the treadmill for 4 weeks (speed=18 m/min, 30 min, 5 sessions per week). Sacrifice and blood sampling were performed 24 hours after the last training session. The data were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA and LSD post hoc tests.

Vascular endothelial growth factor levels were significantly higher in the female MI + EXE group than in the male MI + EXE group (P=0.037). Changes in matrix metalloproteinase 2 levels were greater in the female rat group than in the male rat group (P=0.017). Matrix metalloproteinase 9 levels were higher in the MI + EXE female rats than in the MI + EXE male rats (P=0.008).

Our findings showed that sports rehabilitation had positive effects on experimental MI, which is likely to cause clinical changes and improve angiogenic parameters in female rats more than in male rats.