Aerobic training associated with an active lifestyle exerts a protective effect against oxidative damage in hypothalamus and liver: The involvement of energy metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Oxidation resistance protein 1 (OXR1) is of scientific interest due its role in protecting tissues against oxidative stress, DNA mutations and tumorigenesis, but little is known regarding strategies to increase OXR1 in different tissues. As an improved antioxidant defense may result from a high total amount of physical activity, the present study was designed to determine whether an active lifestyle including aerobic training exercise and spontaneous physical activity (SPA) can increase OXR1. We have built a large cage (LC) that allows animals to move freely, promoting an increase in SPA in comparison to a small cage (SC). METHODS: We examined the effects of aerobic training applied for 8 weeks on SPA and OXR1 of C57BL/6 J mice living in two types of housing (SC and LC). OXR1 protein was studied in hypothalamus, muscle and liver, which were chosen due to their important role in energy and metabolic homeostasis. RESULTS: LC-mice were more active than SC-mice as determined by SPA values. Despite both trained groups exhibiting similar gains in aerobic capacity, only trained mice kept in a large cage (but not for trained mice housed in SC) exhibited high OXR1 in the hypothalamus and liver. Trained mice housed in LC that exhibited an up-regulation of OXR1 also were those who exhibited an energy-expensive metabolism (based on metabolic parameters). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that aerobic training associated with a more active lifestyle exerts a protective effect against oxidative damage and may be induced by changes in energy metabolism.

Effects of high-intensity interval training in more or less active mice on biomechanical, biophysical and biochemical bone parameters.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is of scientific interest due its role in improving physical fitness, but the effects of HIIT on bone health need be carefully explored. Further, it is necessary to know whether HIIT effects on bone health are dependent on the physical activity levels. This may be experimentally tested since we have built a large cage (LC) that allows animals to move freely, promoting an increase of spontaneous physical activity (SPA) in comparison to a small cage (SC). Thus, we examined the effects of HIIT on biophysical, biomechanical and biochemical parameters of bone tissue of C57BL/6J mice living in cages of two different sizes: small (SC) or large (LC) cages with 1320 cm2 and 4800 cm2 floor space, respectively. Male mice were subdivided into two groups within each housing type: Control (C) and Trained (T). At the end of the interventions, all mice were euthanized to extract the femur bone for biophysical, biomechanical and biochemical analyses. Based a significant interaction from two-way ANOVA, trained mice kept in large cage (but not for trained mice housed in SC) exhibited a reduction of tenacity and displacement at failure in bone. This suggests that long-term HIIT program, in addition with a more active lifestyle correlates with exerts negative effects on the bone of healthy mice. A caution must also be raised about the excessive adoption of physical training, at least regarding bone tissue. On the other hand, increased calcium was found in femur of mice housed in LC. In line with this, LC-C mice were more active (i.e. SPA) than other groups. This implies that an active lifestyle without long-term high intensity physical training seems to play a role in promoting benefits to bone tissue. Our data provides new insights for treatment of osteo-health related disorders.