The effect of eight weeks aerobic exercise on troponin T and metallothionein levels of cardiac tissue in healthy male rats

Introduction: Cardiac Troponin T (cTnT) is currently considered as an ideal biomarker for the diagnosis of cardiac injury and Metallothionein has a protective effect against oxidative species damage. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic activity on Troponin T levels and Metallothionein of cardiac tissue in healthy male rats. Material & Methods: In this study, 20 Wistar male rats, aged 2 months with the weighted average of 180 ± 20 g, were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups: aerobic exercise (10) and control (10). The exercise group performed physical exercise 5 days a week according to the training program for 8 weeks. During this period, the control group did not exercise at all. After 8 weeks of training, independent t- test was used to analyze the data. Results: The results demonstrated there was no significant difference between the average Troponin T (P=0.77) in the exercise and control groups. No significant difference was also observed between Metallothionein in the training and control groups (P=0.15). Conclusions: It was revealed that the aerobic program used in the present study did not lead to increased cTnT which is indicative of cardiac injury. However, it increased Metallothionein levels (though insignificant) that can be helpful in preventing cardiac injury.

Keywords:

Aerobic exercise , Troponin T , Metallothionein , Cardiac tissue