Effect of eight weeks of high-intensity interval training on some indices of liver mitophagy in type 2 diabetic rats

Dysfunction of mitochondria is associated with such diseases as obesity, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Training plays a major role in the improvement of mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of high-intensity interval training on some mitophagy indices in the liver tissue, including BNIP3 and NIX in type 2 diabetic rats.

A total of 30 three-month-old adult male Wistar rats with a weight range (250-300 g) were randomly assigned to four groups of 10 series, including healthy control (C), Diabetic control (D), and diabetic+Training (D+T). The training protocol includes running with intensity at 85%-90% of maximum speed in 6-12 two-minute intervals five days a week for eight weeks. A method based on Western blotting was used to determine changes in the expression of BNIP3 and NIX proteins in the liver tissue of rats. The one-way analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc test were used to analyze the data.

Diabetes increased BNIP3 and NIX proteins; nonetheless, it was not significant. The changes of NIX in the trained diabetic group were about 57% less than in the diabetic control group, and this difference was significant (P=0.033), while BNIP3, despite a 37% decrease, did not change significantly (P>0.05).

Eight weeks of intense intermittent training caused a significant decrease in the expression of proteins involved in mitophagy in the training group. Nonetheless, arriving at a definite conclusion on these indicators and how they are affected by different conditions depends on conducting further studies.