Effects of regular exercise plus food restriction on left ventricular pathological remodeling in heart...

Cardiac remodeling is the main pathophysiological process leading to heart failure. Exercise and food restriction have been shown to exert some profound physiological benefits.

This study investigated the effects of exercise plus food restriction (FR) on rat left ventricular remodeling.

Fifty male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. 1) Sham (saline injection), 2) ISO (isoproterenol injection), 3) FR+ ISO (8 weeks with 60 % food restriction and then isoproterenol injection), 4) E+ISO (run-in period of 4 weeks on treadmill and then isoproterenol injection), and 5) FR+E+ISO. Serum levels of creatine kinase, nitric oxide, gene expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3-I and II, Beclin-1, Bax and Bcl2 and TUNEL staining were investigated.

ISO increased the plasma CK-MB level, gene expression of Bax and TUNEL‑positive cells in left ventricle and at the same time, decreased the serum level of NO. Regular exercise plus food restriction enhanced the expression of LC3B-II, Beclin-1, Bcl2 genes and elevated LC3B-II / LC3B-Ι, while decreasing the gene expression of Bax and TUNEL‑positive cells in the left ventricle.

Our results propose that exercise plus food restriction is more effective than either therapy alone for possibly preserving cardiac internal defenses against heart failure consequences and remodeling (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 20).