Mojdeh Khajehlandi

Quercetin and exercise both have antidiabetic effects through decreasing blood glucose while increasing insulin sensitivity. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) exercises along with quercetin administration on apoptosis and cardiomyopathy in diabetic obese rats. In this experimental study, 35 male Wistar rats [diabetic rats for experimental groups and normal rats for healthy control (HC)] were divided into seven groups (for each group n=5): HC, diabetic control (DC), diabetic quercetin control (DQC), diabetic HIIT (DHT), diabetic MICT (DMT), DHT with quercetin (DQHT) and DMT with quercetin (DQMT). The rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks and a low dose of streptozotocin (STZ) was administered to create a model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Eight weeks of HIIT and MICT with or without quercetin treatment were performed. Quercetin was used at 15 mg/kg, as a suspension in carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) at a concentration of 0.5%. One-way analysis of variance with LSD's post-hoc test with a significant level of P≤0.05 was used to analyze data. Just 8 weeks of HIIT and MICT protected the protein content of PI3K, AKT, and FOXO3 and caspase-8 (Casp- 8) gene expression in heart tissues (P<0.05). Quercetin and both training protocols decreased blood glucose, while improving inflammatory markers and the lipid profile (P<0.05). Reduction in blood glucose along with improvements in the inflammatory markers and the lipid profile by quercetin injection may be a promising approach for the development of new antidiabetic medications. In addition, both training protocols showed potentially successful diabetic cardiomyopathy treatments through modulating the FOXO3 and PI3K/AKT pathways.

Background: As focusing on mitochondria can be a good choice to restore energy balance in heart diseases related to diabetes, this study aimed to investigate the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) with quercetin injection on mitochondrial biogenesis gene expression in the diabetic hearts of obese rats. Methods: Thirty-five male rats were divided into 7 groups, including healthy sedentary (n=5), diabetic sedentary (n=5), diabetic quercetin sedentary (n=5), diabetic HIIT (DHIIT, n=5), diabetic MICT (DMICT, n=5), DHIIT with quercetin (n=5), and DMICT with quercetin (n=5). The rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFT) for 8 weeks and then treated with a single low dose of streptozotocin (STZ) (a low dose of 25 mg/kg intraperitoneally) to create a model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Eight weeks of HIIT and MICT with and without quercetin were performed for the intervention groups, and a quercetin supplement was injected during 8 weeks. Results: By inducing T2DM, the gene expression of activating transcription factor 2 and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase significantly decreased, while blood glucose levels represented a significant increase (P<0.05). However, eight weeks of quercetin supplementation injection, HIIT, and MICT training with and without quercetin significantly decreased blood glucose levels (P<0.05). Finally, eight weeks of HIIT and MICT training could increase their gene expression levels, especially when combined with quercetin supplementation (P<0.05). Conclusion: Both training protocols improved the gene expression of mitochondrial biogenesis and blood glucose levels in diabetic rats. These changes were more effective when both training protocols were combined with quercetin. Thus, it seems that blood glucose lowering by quercetin is a promising template for diabetic conditions in rats.

Background: Mitochondrial function is an integral part of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells and is a hallmark feature of cardiovascular disease. It may contribute to the pathophysiology of diabetic cardiomyopathy and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), combined ...

Background: Insufficiency of omentin-1 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels is associated with obesity, which is known as a threat to health. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the effect of eight weeks of Pilates exercise on the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, omentin-1, and lipid profile in overweight ...

Quercetin has significant antidiabetic effects and may help decrease blood glucose levels and increase insulin sensitivity. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) with quercetin supplementation on apoptosis cardiomyopathy-related factors in the diabetic cardiac of obese rats. In this experimental study, 35 adult male rats were divided into 7 groups: healthy control (HC, n = 5), diabetic control (DC, n = 5), diabetic quercetin control (DQC, n = 5), diabetic HIIT (DHT, n = 5), diabetic MICT (DMT, n = 5), DHIIT with quercetin supplementation (DQHT, n = 5) and DMICT with quercetin supplementation (DQMT, n = 5). Rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks and treated with a unique dose of streptozotocin (25 mg/kg i.p.) to create a model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Eight weeks of HIIT and MICT with and without quercetin were performed for the intervention groups, and quercetin supplementation was administered during the 8 weeks. One-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s post-hoc test with a significance level of (P < 0.05). The findings showed that the protein content of AKT and PI3K significantly decreased, but FOXO3 protein content, caspase-8 gene expression, and blood glucose as well as inflammatory markers levels significantly increased (P < 0.05) by inducing DM. Eight weeks of quercetin supplementation, HIIT, and MICT training with and without quercetin supplementation significantly decreased blood glucose levels (P < 0.05). Just 8 weeks of HIIT and MICT training protected the protein content of PI3K, AKT, and caspase-8 gene expression, especially when combined with quercetin supplementation (P < 0.05). Quercetin and both training protocols improved inflammatory markers and lipid levels (P < 0.05). These changes were more effective when training protocols were combined with quercetin supplementation. Therefore, blood glucose decrease and improvement in inflammatory markers and lipid levels by quercetin injection is a promising template for developing new antidiabetic drugs. Therefore, although apoptosis was increased in the heart of diabetic rats, both exercises, especially when combined with quercetin, played a critical role in diabetic cardiomyopathy treatment by modulating the FOXO3 and PI3K/AKT pathways.

Background and Aim: Lack of physical activity and a high-fat diet (HFD) cause an imbalance between energy consumption and energy intake. Exercise training prevents and controls obesity. Therefore, the recent study aimed to compare the effect of moderate-intensity endurance training (MICT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the cardiac apoptosis in HFD fed rats. Methods In the present study, 20 male Wistar rats (age = 8 weeks) were purchased and randomly placed in four groups of five: healthy control with normal diet (HC), sedentary control with HFD (SC), high-intensity interval training with HFD (HIIT), and moderate-intensity endurance training with HFD (MICT). Eight weeks of HIIT training was performed for one group, and eight weeks of MICT training was performed for the other group. One-way analysis of variance with Tukey's post-hoc test was used to analyze the data (with a significance level of P < 0.05). Results After eight weeks of MICT and HIIT training, blood glucose and insulin levels, body weight, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins-cholesterol (LDL-C), inflammatory indicators, and FOXO3 protein content significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and protein content of AKT as well as PI3K significantly increased (P < 0.05) in HIIT and MICT groups, and there was no significant difference between HIIT and MICT groups (P ≥ 0.05). Conclusion It seems that both exercises played a critical role in the cardiac apoptosis treatment by modulating insulin and blood glucose levels, lipid profile, inflammatory factors as well as the PI3K/AKT pathways and FOXO3 protein content in HFD fed rats.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effects of 8-week aerobic training (AT) and saffron supplementation on inflammation and metabolism in middle-aged obese women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Thirty-two obese women with T2DM were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 in all groups): saffron + training (ST), placebo + training (PT), saffron supplementation (SS), and placebo (P). The ST and PT groups performed eight weeks of aerobic training (AT) (three sessions/week at 60–75% HRmax). A daily dose of 400 mg saffron powder was consumed by the ST and SS groups for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken after 12 h of fasting, 48 h before the first AT session, 48 h and two weeks after the last AT session. Results: AT, saffron supplementation, and their combination affected body mass index (BMI), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and serum levels of insulin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), cholesterol, and triglyceride (TG) (p < 0.05). However, body weight, body fat percentage, and serum levels of glucose, resistin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), irisin, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) showed significant changes in the ST group only (p < 0.05). In addition, a significant difference was seen between all factors in post-training and follow-up in the ST group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Saffron supplementation at a dose of 400 mg/day, when combined with AT, could improve inflammation, metabolism, glycemic status, and lipid profile in T2DM patients, and these changes are sustainable at up to 2 weeks of detraining.

Background: The major effects of regular exercise on diabetes mellitus are glycemic status improvement and amelioration of cardiovascular dysfunctions. This research examines whether moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can change the gene expression of metalloproteinase-2 and angiostatin in diabetic rats' heart tissue. Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, thirty Wistar rats ...

Exercise can ameliorate cardiovascular dysfunctions in the diabetes condition, but its precise molecular mechanisms have not been entirely understood. The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of endurance training on expression of angiogenesis-related genes in cardiac tissue of diabetic rats. Thirty adults male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups (N = 10) including diabetic training (DT), sedentary diabetes (SD), and sedentary healthy (SH), in which diabetes was induced by a single dose of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg). Endurance training (ET) with moderate-intensity was performed on a motorized treadmill for six weeks. Training duration and treadmill speed were increased during five weeks, but they were kept constant at the final week, and slope was zero at all stages. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was used to measure the expression of myocyte enhancer factor-2C (MEF2C), histone deacetylase-4 (HDAC4) and Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in cardiac tissues of the rats. Our results demonstrated that six weeks of ET increased gene expression of MEF2C significantly (p < 0.05), and caused a significant reduction in HDAC4 and CaMKII gene expression in the DT rats compared to the SD rats (p < 0.05). We concluded that moderate-intensity ET could play a critical role in ameliorating cardiovascular dysfunction in a diabetes condition by regulating the expression of some angiogenesis-related genes in cardiac tissues.

Aims: Hemostasis and serum levels of adipokines in the body are affected by physical activity and overweight. The present study investigates the effect of the Pilates exercise program on serum levels of resistin, visfatin, and chemerin in overweight women Methods & Materials: In this quasi-experimental study, 28 women with overweight voluntarily participated and were randomly divided into two groups of exercise (n=14) and control (n=14). The Pilates exercise program was presented to the exercise group for 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, while the control group performed no exercise. Blood samples were taken before the intervention and 48 hours after the intervention in a fasting state to measure the serum levels of resistin, visfatin, and chemerin. The t-test was used for intra-group comparison and ANCOVA for inter-group comparison of the variables. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS v. 23, considering a significance level of P<0.05 Findings: After 8 weeks of Pilates exercise, serum levels of resistin (P=0.001), visfatin (P=0.045), and chemerin (P=0.009) decreased significantly compared to pre-test values. A significant reduction in serum levels of resistin (P=0.005), visfatin (P=0.034), and chemerin (P=0.025) were also reported compared to the control group Conclusion: It seems that Pilates exercise can reduce resistin, visfatin, and chemerin levels in overweight women and can be considered as an appropriate exercise program to control the health and physiological conditions of overweight women