The Effect of Endurance Training in Air Pollution on the Expression of Muscle Tissue Mitochondria PGC-1α and MEF2C Genes in Wistar Male Rats

Endurance training through PGC-1α gene expression induces mitochondrial biogenesis. Furthermore, air pollution causes mitochondrial biogenesis disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of endurance training in air pollution on the expression of muscle tissue mitochondria PGC-1α and MEF2C genes in Wistar male rats. 32 male Wistar 8-week-old rats (weight: 180.77 ± 10.65 g) were randomly divided into four groups of control, training, pollution, and training + pollution. In order to place the animals exposed to air pollution, a chamber with dimensions of 166 × 199 × 272 cm, which was completely isolated, was used. The pollutants included carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The endurance training was performed five times per week for eight weeks. Twenty four hours after the completion of the protocol, the gastrocnemius muscle tissue was extracted. Then, the expression of PGC-1α and MEF2C genes was measured using teal time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Two-way ANOVA test was used to analyze the data. There was a statistically significant interaction between the effects of exercise and pollution on the expression of PGC-1α gene (P = 0.03). Moreover, there was not a statistically significant interaction between the effects of exercise and pollution on the expression of MEF2C gene (P = 0.61). But, simple main effects analysis showed that both exercise and pollution significantly affected expression of MEF2C gene (P = 0.03). Air pollution significantly reduces the expression of PGC-1α and MEF2C genes; however, endurance training significantly increases the expression of these genes; but, endurance training in air pollution only increases the expression of PGC-1α gene.