The effect of aerobic exercise after exposure to black carbon particulate matter 2.5 on expression of NF-κB and TNF-α genes in the lung tissue of male rats

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise after exposure to black carbon particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) on expression of NF-κB, and TNF-α genes in the lung tissue of male rats.
Twenty-four male Wistar rats (mean weight, 279.29±26.97 g) were randomly divided into four equal groups: 1) control (without any intervention), 2) without aerobic exercise and with exposure to PM2.5 black carbon, 3) aerobic exercise without exposure to black carbon, and 4) aerobic exercise after exposure to PM2.5 black carbon. The aerobic exercise protocol was performed at 50% the maximal speed of each group for 4 weeks 15 minutes after exposure to black carbon particles in the chamber. Animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last training session and exposure to black carbon particles. The expression of NF-κB and TNF-α genes were analyzed in the lung tissue of rats by the real-time PCR.
A significant difference was found in the NF-κB expression between the group 1 and other groups and also there was a significant difference in the TNF-α expression between the group 2 and group 3 after exposure to black carbon in the lung tissue of male rats.
The findings show that aerobic exercise after exposure to the black carbon particles (PM2.5) is associated with adjustment in lung inflammatory factors. It seems that these changes in part are associated with a lower risk of inflammatory pulmonary disease.