Effects of different levels of exercise volume on endothelium-dependent vasodilation: roles of nitric oxide synthase and heme oxygenase.

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of moderate and high levels of exercise volume on endothelium-dependent vasodilation and associated changes in vascular endothelial/inducible nitric oxide synthase (eNOS and iNOS) and heme oxygenase (HO). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to sedentary control, acute (2 weeks), or chronic (6 weeks) treadmill running at moderate intensity (50% maximal aerobic velocity) with different durations of exercise episodes: 2 h/d (endurance training, moderate volume) and 3 h/d (intense training, high volume). Endothelium-dependent vascular function was examined in isolated thoracic aorta. Co-localization and contents of aortic eNOS/iNOS and HO-1/HO-2 were determined with immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Compared with sedentary controls, rats subjected to acute and chronic endurance training showed enhanced endothelium-dependent relaxation (p<0.01). Whereas acetylcholine-induced dilation was inhibited completely by NOS inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in sedentary controls, the dilation in the training groups was only partly blocked by L-NAME (inhibition was 98+/-3%, 79+/-6%, and 77+/-5% in sedentary control, acute, and chronic training groups, respectively, p<0.01). The remnant dilation in the training groups was further inhibited by HO inhibitor protoporphyrin IX zinc, with concomitant elevation in aortic eNOS as well as HO-1 and HO-2. In contrast to endurance exercise, high-volume intense training resulted in mild hypertension with significant impairment in endothelium-dependent vasodilation and profuse increases in aortic iNOS and eNOS (p<0.01). In conclusion, endothelium-dependent vasodilation is improved by endurance exercise but impaired by chronic intense training. Elevations of vascular eNOS and HO-1/HO-2 may contribute to enhanced vasodilation, which can be offset by intense training and elevation in vascular iNOS.

Low-intensity voluntary running lowers blood pressure with simultaneous improvement in endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and insulin sensitivity in aged spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Our objective is to examine the effects of voluntary running at different intensity levels on blood pressure, endothelium-dependent vessel dysfunction and insulin resistance in aged spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with severe hypertension. Ten-month-old male and female SHR with severe hypertension were assigned to voluntary running at either low intensity (30% of maximal aerobic velocity) or moderate intensity (60% of maximal aerobic velocity) on a motor-driven treadmill for 6 weeks, 20 min per day and 7 days per week. Age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats and SHR were kept under sedentary conditions as controls. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured by the tail-cuff method. At the end of the exercise training, blood samples were collected for glucose, insulin and lipids assay, and aortae were isolated to examine their function in vitro. Low-intensity but not moderate-intensity running significantly lowered blood pressure in both male and female SHR (p<0.01). There was significant impairment in acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation in SHR (p<0.01), which was improved by low-intensity training (p<0.05). Nitric oxide synthase blockade abrogated the improvement in endothelium-dependent relaxation. Hypertensive rats had elevated blood glucose and insulin levels with lowered insulin sensitivity that was ameliorated by low-intensity running. A significant increase in blood high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and a significant decrease in triglycerides were found in exercised SHR. In conclusion, low-intensity voluntary exercise lowers hypertension in aged SHR with severe hypertension. Exercise-induced simultaneous improvement in endothelium-dependent vessel relaxation and insulin sensitivity may act concomitantly in attenuating cardiovascular risk factors in aged hypertensive rats with significantly high blood pressure.