Therapeutic or lifelong training effects on pancreatic morphological and functional parameters in an animal model of aging and obesity

• Published in: Experimental gerontology Vol. 175; p. 112144
• Main Authors: Dias, Maiara Raulina de Jesus, Correia, Thiago Macêdo Lopes, Borges, Júlia de Oliveira, Santos, Larissa Silva dos, Pereira, Rafael, Silva, Robson Amaro Augusto da, Soares, Telma de Jesus, Coqueiro, Raildo da Silva, Magalhães, Amélia Cristina Mendes de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01-05-2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aerobic exercise; Aged; Aging; Animals; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Insulin - metabolism; Lifelong exercise; Male; Models, Animal; Obese rats; Obesity - metabolism; Oxidative Stress; Pancreas; Pancreas - metabolism; Physical Conditioning, Animal; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Therapeutic exercise; Oxidative stress; Therapeutic exercise; Aged; Obese rats; Lifelong exercise; Pancreas; Aerobic exercise
• ISSN: 0531-5565; 1873-6815
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2023.112144

Obesity, aging, and physical training are factors influencing pancreatic functional and morphological parameters. Aiming to clarify the impact of the interaction of these factors, we analyzed the effect of therapeutic or lifelong physical training on body adiposity and pancreatic functional and morphological parameters of aged and obese rats.
24 male Wistar rats were (initial age = 4 months and final age = 14 months) randomly divided into three aged and obese experimental groups (n = 8/group): untrained, therapeutic trained, and lifelong trained. Body adiposity, plasmatic concentration and pancreatic immunostaining of insulin, markers of tissue inflammation, lipid peroxidation, activity and immunostaining of antioxidant enzymes, and parameters of pancreatic morphology were evaluated.
Lifelong physical training improved the body adiposity, plasmatic insulin concentration, and macrophage immunostaining in the pancreas. The animals submitted to therapeutic and lifelong training showed an increase in the density of the pancreatic islets; lower insulin, Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB), and Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-β) immunostaining in the pancreatic parenchyma, as well as lower pancreatic tissue lipid peroxidation, lower fibrosis area, increased catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and increased heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) immunostaining, with the greatest effect in the lifelong training group.
Lifelong training promoted greater beneficial effects on the pancreatic functional and morphological parameters of aged and obese animals compared to therapeutic exercise.
[Display omitted]
•Exercise attenuates the morphological and functional changes of pancreatic tissue in obese and aged rats•Lifelong exercise would result in better results compared to therapeutic physical training.