The Effect Of High Intensity Aerobic Training On Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number In Visceral Adipose Tissue Of Ovariectomized Rats Fed With High-Fat Diet

The prevalence of obesity in postmenopausal women is higher compared to men. A decrease in estrogen with menopause leads to dysfunction in mitochondria. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of high intensity aerobic training(HIT) on the copy number of mitochondrial genome (mtDNAcn) and mitochondrial transcription factor A(Tfam) in visceral adipose tissue(VAT) in ovariectomized(OVX) rats fed with high-fat diet(HFD). 40 rats (8 weeks, 200±20 gr) were divided into 5 groups:1) normal diet (ND), 2) ND+OVX, 3) HFD, 4) HFD+OVX, and 5) HFD+OVX+HIT. HIT performed aerobic training (80-85% of maximum oxygen consumption) for 8 weeks/5 sessions/42 minutes.48 hours after the last training session, VAT samples were taken to evaluate mtDNAcn and Tfam gene expression by qRT-PCR method. ANOVA and LSD tests were used to compare the differences between groups. OVX and HFD didn’t lead to a significant change in Tfam gene expression, but caused a significant decrease in the mtDNAcn compared to the control group. HIT caused a significant increase in Tfam gene expression compared to the control group and Tfam gene expression and mtDNAcn compared to the HFD+OVX. Hence, HIT improves mitochondrial function through mtDNAcn and Tfam gene expression in VAT in OVX rats fed by HFD.