kharazmi university , h.habibi@khu.ac.ir
Abstract: (239 Views)
The impact of maternal physical activity on offspring health and phenotypic changes due to exercise has emerged as a significant area of interest in exercise physiology in recent years. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of a maternal high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program on the expression of PGC1α and SIRT1 genes in the skeletal muscle of first-generation offspring in Wistar rats. Twenty-four 8-week-old female Wistar rats were acclimatized to the environment and then divided into three groups: a maternal control group, a maternal pre-pregnancy exercise group, and a maternal exercise group that trained both before and during pregnancy. The pre-pregnancy exercise regimen lasted 6 weeks, while the exercise during pregnancy lasted 3 weeks. The exercise protocol involved treadmill running, consisting of 5 days per week, with each session including 1 minute of running at 85-100% of VO2peak and a 10% incline, followed by 2 minutes of rest at 65% of VO2peak and 0% incline. The number of intervals started at 10 and increased based on the overload principle. The control group remained sedentary during this period. After the exercise period and the birth of the offspring, male offspring were categorized according to their maternal groups, and the expression levels of PGC1α and SIRT1 genes in their skeletal muscle were evaluated at 10 weeks of age. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test.
The results indicated that after the 6-week HIIT program, both the pre-pregnancy exercise group and the group that exercised before and during pregnancy showed significant differences in speed and distance in the functional performance test compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, significant differences were observed in the expression of PGC1α and SIRT1 genes among the groups after the birth of the offspring. These differences were significant between the pre-pregnancy exercise group, the pre- and during-pregnancy exercise group, and the control group (P < 0.05). It appears that maternal exercise before and during pregnancy induces changes in the mitochondrial genotype of the offspring, with a more pronounced effect on the expression of mitochondrial genes such as PGC1α and SIRT1 when exercise occurs both before and during pregnancy compared to exercise before pregnancy alone.
The results indicated that after the 6-week HIIT program, both the pre-pregnancy exercise group and the group that exercised before and during pregnancy showed significant differences in speed and distance in the functional performance test compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, significant differences were observed in the expression of PGC1α and SIRT1 genes among the groups after the birth of the offspring. These differences were significant between the pre-pregnancy exercise group, the pre- and during-pregnancy exercise group, and the control group (P < 0.05). It appears that maternal exercise before and during pregnancy induces changes in the mitochondrial genotype of the offspring, with a more pronounced effect on the expression of mitochondrial genes such as PGC1α and SIRT1 when exercise occurs both before and during pregnancy compared to exercise before pregnancy alone.
Keywords: High-intensity interval training, maternal exercise, mitochondria, epigenetics, SIRT1, PGC-1α
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