The effect of exercise training on cold tolerance in adult and old C57BL/6J mice

In order to ascertain the effect of aging on cross-adaptation between exercise training and cold tolerance, we studied cold tolerance in adult and old C57BL/6J male mice before and after 6 weeks of an exercise regimen of moderate intensity. There were two age groups of 32 mice each, including 12-month-old (adult) and 24-month-old (aged) mice equally divided into control and exercise groups. The exercise consisted of daily runs on a treadmill (1 hr/day, 5 days/week) for 6 weeks, while the control mice spent the same time on a stationary treadmill. All mice were subjected to a cold stress test (3-hr partial restraint at 6 degrees C) prior to and following the designated regimen. The results revealed a statistically significant interaction between age and exercise training. In adult mice, exercise resulted in a reduction of cold-induced heat production and weakening of cold tolerance, while in aged mice, the opposite effect was observed; i.e., an increase in cold-induced heat production accompanied by greater cold tolerance. However, only the attenuating effect on cold tolerance of adults was statistically significant. The results of our experiments do not support the existence of cross-adaptation between exercise training and cold tolerance. They indicate, however, that exercise training affects the cold tolerance in adult and old mice through different physiological mechanisms.