Influence of the maternal high-intensity-interval-training on the cardiac Sirt6 and lipid profile of the adult male offspring in rats

Maternal high-intensity interval training as a suitable approach for offspring's heart protection in rat: evidence from oxidative stress and mitochondrial genes

Considerable scientific evidence suggests that the intrauterine environment plays a crucial role in determining the long-term health of offspring. The present study aims to investigate the effects of high-intensity interval training in maternal rats before and during pregnancy on the antioxidant status, mitochondrial gene expression, and anxiety-like behavior of their offspring. A total of thirty-two female rats were assigned to four maternal groups based on the timing of exercise: before pregnancy, before and during pregnancy, during pregnancy, and sedentary. The female and male offspring were allocated to groups that matched their mothers' exercise regimen. Anxiety-like behavior in the offspring was evaluated using the open-field and elevated plus-maze tests. Our findings indicate that maternal HIIT does not have any detrimental effect on the anxiety-related behavior of offspring. Also, maternal exercise before and during pregnancy could improve the general activity of the offspring. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that female offspring exhibit more locomotion activity than males. Besides, maternal HIIT leads to a reduction in the levels of TOS and MDA, while TAC levels increase, and significantly upregulate the gene expression of PGC1-α, NFR1, and NRF2 in both sexes in the heart. Therefore, our study suggests that maternal HIIT is a beneficial maternal behavior and serves as a cardioprotective agent to enhance the health of the next generations.

SIRT6 in Aging, Metabolism, Inflammation and Cardiovascular Diseases

As an important NAD⁺-dependent enzyme, SIRT6 has received significant attention since its discovery. In view of observations that SIRT6-deficient animals exhibit genomic instability and metabolic disorders and undergo early death, SIRT6 has long been considered a protein of longevity. Recently, growing evidence has demonstrated that SIRT6 functions as a deacetylase, mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase and long fatty deacylase and participates in a variety of cellular signaling pathways from DNA damage repair in the early stage to disease progression. In this review, we elaborate on the specific substrates and molecular mechanisms of SIRT6 in various physiological and pathological processes in detail, emphasizing its links to aging (genomic damage, telomere integrity, DNA repair), metabolism (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, insulin secretion and lipid synthesis, lipolysis, thermogenesis), inflammation and cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis, cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, ischemia-reperfusion injury). In addition, the most recent advances regarding SIRT6 modulators (agonists and inhibitors) as potential therapeutic agents for SIRT6-mediated diseases are reviewed.

Influence of Maternal Exercise on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Offspring Stem Cells: ENHANCED by Mom

CONTEXT

Recent preclinical data suggest exercise during pregnancy can improve the metabolic phenotype not only of the mother, but of the developing offspring as well. However, investigations in human offspring are lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the effect of maternal aerobic exercise on the metabolic phenotype of the offspring's mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Clinical research facility.

PATIENTS

Healthy female adults between 18 and 35 years of age and ≤ 16 weeks' gestation.

INTERVENTION

Mothers were randomized into 1 of 2 groups: aerobic exercise (AE, n = 10) or nonexercise control (CTRL, n = 10). The AE group completed 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity exercise, according to American College of Sports Medicine guidelines, during pregnancy, whereas controls attended stretching sessions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Following delivery, MSCs were isolated from the umbilical cord of the offspring and metabolic tracer and immunoblotting experiments were completed in the undifferentiated (D0) or myogenically differentiated (D21) state.

RESULTS

AE-MSCs at D0 had an elevated fold-change over basal in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis and reduced nonoxidized glucose metabolite (NOGM) production (P ≤ 0.05). At D21, AE-MSCs had a significant elevation in glucose partitioning toward oxidation (oxidation/NOGM ratio) compared with CTRL (P ≤ 0.05). Immunoblot analysis revealed elevated complex I expression in the AE-MSCs at D21 (P ≤ 0.05). Basal and palmitate-stimulated lipid metabolism was similar between groups at D0 and D21.

CONCLUSIONS

These data provide evidence of a programmed metabolic phenotype in human offspring with maternal AE during pregnancy.

Effects of the combination of high-intensity interval training and Ecdysterone on learning and memory abilities, antioxidant enzyme activities, and neuronal population in an Amyloid-beta-induced rat model of Alzheimer's disease

AIMS

Oxidative stress and neuronal death are the primary reasons for the progression of amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ecdysterone (ecdy), a common derivative of ecdysteroids, possesses free radical scavenging and cognitive-improving effects. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be a therapeutic strategy for improving cognitive decline and oxidative stress. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of HIIT exercise and ecdy consumption synergistically on the changes in learning and memory functions, activities of hippocampal antioxidant enzymes, and neuronal population after AD induced by Aβ in male rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Following ten days of Aβ injection, HIIT exercise and ecdy treatment (10 mg/kg/day; P.O.) were initiated and continued for eight consecutive weeks in rats. At the end of the treatment period, the rat's learning and memory functions were assessed using Morris water maze and passive avoidance tests. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GRx), and changes in neuronal population were evaluated in rats' brains.

RESULTS

The results indicated that Aβ injection disrupted spatial/passive avoidance learning and memory in both tests, accompanied by a decrease in the SOD and CAT (as endogenous antioxidants) in rats' hippocampus. Additionally, Aβ injection resulted in neuronal loss in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Although the consumption of ecdy separately improved spatial/passive avoidance learning and memory impairments, recovered hippocampal activity of SOD, CAT, GRx, and prevented the hippocampal neuronal loss, its combination along with HIIT resulted in a more powerful and effective amelioration in all the above-mentioned Aβ-neuropathological changes.

CONCLUSION

Our results confirm that a combination of HIIT and ecdy treatment could be a promising potential therapeutic option against AD-associated cognitive decline, owing to their free radical scavenging and neuroprotective properties.

Therapeutic Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training Exercise Alone and Its Combination with Ecdysterone Against Amyloid Beta-Induced Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease: A Behavioral, Biochemical, and Histological Study

Hippocampal oxidative stress has a vital role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated behavioral deficits. Ecdysterone (Ecdy), a natural product and primary steroid hormone, exhibits anti-oxidative and neuroprotective effects. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has emerged as an effective method for improving physiological brain functions. The present study was designed to investigate the comparative effects of separate and combined HIIT and Ecdy treatment on behavioral functions, hippocampal oxidative status, histological changes in an amyloid-beta (Aβ)-induced rat model of AD. Adult male rats were treated simultaneously with HIIT exercise and Ecdy (10 mg/kg/day; P.O.), starting ten days after Aβ-injection, and they continued for eight consecutive weeks. At the end of the treatment course, the behavioral functions of the rats were assessed by commonly-used behavioral paradigms. Subsequently, brain samples were collected for histological analysis and hippocampus samples were collected for biochemical analysis. Results illustrated that Aβ injection impaired learning and memory performances in both novel object recognition and Barnes maze tests, reduced exploratory/locomotor activities in open field test, enhanced anxiety-like behavior in elevated plus-maze (P < 0.05). These behavioral deficits accompanied hippocampal oxidative stress (decreased total antioxidant capacity content and glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity, increased total oxidant status and malondialdehyde level) and neuronal loss in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in H&E staining (P < 0.05). HIIT and Ecdy improved anxiety-like behavior, attenuated total oxidant status and malondialdehyde, and prevented the neuronal loss (P < 0.05). However, their combination resulted in a more complete and powerful improvement in all the above-mentioned Aβ-related deficits (P < 0.05). Overall, these data provide evidence that a combination of HIIT and Ecdy treatment improves Aβ-induced behavioral deficits, possibly through ameliorating hippocampal oxidative status and preventing neuronal loss.

Sirtuins-Mediated System-Level Regulation of Mammalian Tissues at the Interface between Metabolism and Cell Cycle: A Systematic Review

Sirtuins are a family of highly conserved NAD+-dependent proteins and this dependency links Sirtuins directly to metabolism. Sirtuins' activity has been shown to extend the lifespan of several organisms and mainly through the post-translational modification of their many target proteins, with deacetylation being the most common modification. The seven mammalian Sirtuins, SIRT1 through SIRT7, have been implicated in regulating physiological responses to metabolism and stress by acting as nutrient sensors, linking environmental and nutrient signals to mammalian metabolic homeostasis. Furthermore, mammalian Sirtuins have been implicated in playing major roles in mammalian pathophysiological conditions such as inflammation, obesity and cancer. Mammalian Sirtuins are expressed heterogeneously among different organs and tissues, and the same holds true for their substrates. Thus, the function of mammalian Sirtuins together with their substrates is expected to vary among tissues. Any therapy depending on Sirtuins could therefore have different local as well as systemic effects. Here, an introduction to processes relevant for the actions of Sirtuins, such as metabolism and cell cycle, will be followed by reasoning on the system-level function of Sirtuins and their substrates in different mammalian tissues. Their involvement in the healthy metabolism and metabolic disorders will be reviewed and critically discussed.