EFFECT OF 6 WEEKS ENDURANCE TRAINING WITH QUERCETIN SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE EXPRESSION OF MITOCHONDRIAL PGC-1Α AND ATF2 GENES IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF DIABETIC MALE RATS

Hyperglycemia causes disorders of cardiovascular system, kidneys, retina, lens of the eyes, skin, and central and peripheral nervous system. Since two indicators PGC-1α and Atf2 are involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, therefore, this study was designed and implemented to evaluate the effect of 6 weeks’ endurance training with quercetin supplementation on the expression of mitochondrial PGC-1α and Atf2 genes in the hippocampus of diabetic male rats.

The present study was an experimental study with a post-test design with a control group that was performed by laboratory method. In the present study, 35 Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups (7 in each) including: healthy control, quercetin supplement, control diabetic, exercise diabetic, and diabetic quercetin supplement. 15 mg of quercetin per kg of body weight were injected to two experimental groups (diabetic exercise supplement and supplement) each day after diabetes induction. The protocol used in the present study was 6 weeks’ moderate intensity endurance training (55-50% of maximum oxygen consumption). Hippocampal tissue was taken surgically 24 hours after the last training session to evaluate the expression of PGC-1α and Atf2 genes. One-way analysis of variance with Tukey post-hoc test (with a significance level of P <0.05) was used to examine the data.

Results showed that the expression of PGC-1α and Atf2 genes after 6 weeks of intervention, increased significantly in the diabetic supplement training group compared to the diabetic control, training diabetes, and quercetin supplementation groups (P<0.05). The diabetic exercise group had a significant increase compared to the diabetes control group for both of the genes (P <0.05).

It seems that 6 weeks’ endurance training alone and in combination with quercetin supplementation has a positive effect on mitochondrial PGC-1α and Atf2 gene expression, and increases them in the diabetic patients.