An increase in damaged hepatocytes in rats after high intensity exercise

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of various exercise intensities on damage to the hepatic parenchymal cells.

Male Wistar rats were subjected to forced exercise by treadmill running at 60 and 80% of maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) for 120 min, sacrificed immediately and 6 h after the exercise, and then the perfused liver was stained with trypan blue solution to estimate the local damage to the liver.

Although there were no significant increases in damaged hepatic cells immediately after both intensities of exercise, these damaged cells, in particular pericentral hepatocytes, significantly increased at 6 h after the exercise at the 80% VO2max. However, there were no significant increases in the serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) activities immediately and 6 h after both intensities of exercise.

These results suggested that hepatocytes suffered damage after high-intensity exercise, although these histochemical findings in the liver were not observed immediately after the exercise. In addition, in the case of physical activity, there might not be an intimate relationship between the release of enzyme as a hepatic functional biomarker and hepatocyte damage.