Angiogenic Effects of Aerobic Training and Royal Jelly Consumption with Emphasis on the Role of miR-126 and miR-210 in the Aortic Artery of Ovariectomized Diabetic Rats

Cardiovascular complications in postmenopausal diabetic women are significantly higher than in their healthy peers. Although the beneficial effects of exercise interventions and consumption of foods rich in antioxidants on angiogenesis have been established, the synergistic effects of exercise training and royal jelly (RJ) consumption on angiogenesis in ovariectomized diabetic patients are still not well understood.

This study investigated the angiogenic effects of aerobic training (AT) and royal jelly (RJ) consumption, with an emphasis on the role of miR-126 and miR-210 in the aortic artery of ovariectomized diabetic (OVXD) rats.

Thirty female OVXD rats were divided into five groups: OVXD control, Sham (Sh), RJ, AT, and AT + RJ. Additionally, six healthy rats were selected as the healthy control group (HC) to evaluate the effects of modeling on variables. Groups 4 and 5 underwent aerobic training for eight weeks, five sessions per week, with an intensity of 55 - 75% of VO 2 max. Groups 3 and 5 received 100 mg/kg/day of RJ. A one-way ANOVA test was used to analyze VEGF, eNOS, miR-126, and miR-210 (α = 0.05).

Vascular endothelial growth factor, eNOS, and miR-210 levels in the AT, RJ, and AT + RJ groups were higher than in the OVXD group (P ≤ 0.05). Although miR-126 levels in the RJ and AT + RJ groups were higher than in the OVXD group (P ≤ 0.05), the effects of AT and RJ separately on increasing VEGF and eNOS were more favorable than the combined effect of AT + RJ.

While both AT and RJ supplementation individually increase markers of vascular angiogenesis, the simultaneous effects of these two interventions seem to moderate this mechanism.