The Effect of an Incremental Training Rehabilitation Period on the Serum Levels of Pentraxin-3 and Osteoprotegerin in Rats With Myocardial Infarction

Activation of inflammatory processes is necessary immediately after myocardial infarction (MI), but if it continues excessively, it can facilitate the occurrence of MI. Considering the positive effects of exercise on inflammatory pathways and their reduction, it seems to play a crucial role in improving the condition of MI patients. Accordingly, the present study investigated the effect of an incremental training rehabilitation period on serum levels of pentraxin-3 and osteoprotegerin in infarcted rats.

In this experimental study controlled with a control group, 36 Wistar rats (8 weeks old, weighing 210±26 g) were randomly divided into 3 groups, healthy, MI, and infarction-incremental training rehabilitation. MI was then induced in two infarction groups using two subcutaneous injections of isoproterenol (150 mg/kg) at 24-hour intervals. The intervention groups underwent incremental endurance training for one session (treadmill with a speed of 10 m/min and a start time of 20 minutes and reached a speed of 18 m/min and a time of 50 minutes). Serum levels of pentraxin-3 (PTX3) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were then assessed by ELISA immediately after the intervention. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc tests were used to analyze the data at the significance level of P<0.05.

The results showed that induction of MI led to a significant increase in the studied indicators (P=0.0001). Also, incremental training rehabilitation led to a significant decrease (P=0.04 and P=0.01) in the serum levels of pentroxin-3 (PTX3) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in the samples compared to the MI group.

The present study showed that incremental training rehabilitation by reducing inflammatory markers can play a crucial role in improving the condition of patients with MI.