Effect of endurance training on VEGF protein level in tissue of cardiac muscle in STZ-induced diabetic Wistar rats

Exercise is considered as the important treatment in diabetic patients and the process of angiogenesis in diabetes can be affected by exercise. The purpose was to investigate the effect of 6 weeks of endurance training in the form of treadmill running on VEGF levels in cardiac muscle of diabetic rats. 24 male Wistar rats weighing 245±9.4 g and 8 weeks old were randomly assigned to control (n=6), exercise (n=6) diabetic (n=6) and diabetic and exercise (n=6). Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (50 mg/kg). The training was performed for 6 weeks and 5 sessions per week. 24 hours after the protocol, the rats were sacrificed and their cardiac tissue extracted. The VEGF levels were measured by ELISA. To analyze data, one-way ANOVA was used. Training results showed a significant increase in VEGF in the diabetic group compared to the control group (p=0.008). The level of VEGF in the diabetic group was significantly reduced compared with the control and exercise groups (p=0.001). The level of VEGF in the diabetic and exercise group was significantly lower than the control and exercise groups (P<0.05). Exercise significantly increased VEGF in the exercise group compared to the control group (p=0.001). VEGF levels were significantly higher in healthy groups than in diabetic groups and training increased the level of VEGF in the cardiac muscle, and possibly this increased levels of VEGF has positive effects on angiogenic processes in diabetic patients. Therefore, endurance training could be a valuable strategy to develop therapies for diabetes