The Effect of Eight Weeks of Endurance Training on NT4/5 Gene Expression in Sow and Fast Twitch Muscles of Male Wistar Rats

This study aimed at investigating the effect of 8 weeks of endurance training (5 days a week) on NT4/5 protein gene expression in slow twitch (soleus) and fast twitch (EDL) muscles of male Wistar rats. 14 male Wistar rats (age range 50-60 days old, mean weight 160 ± 10 g) were randomly divided into two groups (experimental and control; N=7 for each group). The training protocol consisted of running on a treadmill with 25 m/min for 50 min. for 8 weeks, 5 days per week. After 8 hours of fasting and 24 hours after the last session of endurance training, rats were anesthetized and their soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were removed under sterile conditions. The mentioned tissues were homogenized and kept in -70̊ C after weighing. RT-PCR method was used to measure the NT4/5 gene expression. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA (significance level ≤ 0.05). The results showed that 8 weeks of endurance training increased NT4/5 gene expression in soleus and EDL muscles. This increase was greater in EDL while there were no statistically significant differences. It seems that further research is needed to examine the effect of endurance training with more intensity and duration.