Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under (CC BY-NC) license
Authors
1 Assistant Professor of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Maragheh University, Maragheh, Iran
2 Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran
Abstract
Background: Adolescent obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of continuous endurance training on the expression of miR-146b and inflammatory cytokine genes in this population.
Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 42 overweight and obese male adolescents were randomly assigned to either a training group or a control group. The training group performed continuous endurance training for 12 weeks (three sessions per week, 45–70 minutes per session) at an intensity of 65–75% of maximum heart rate. Blood samples were collected before and after the intervention. The expression levels of miR-146b, IL6, and TNF were quantified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 26). Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05.
Results: MiR-146b expression was significantly reduced in the training group (P = 0.001). The expression levels of IL6 and TNF were also significantly decreased compared with both baseline values and the control group (P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, significant positive correlations were observed between changes in miR-146b expression and IL6 expression (r = 0.73, P = 0.001), as well as between changes in miR-146b expression and TNF expression (r = 0.88, P = 0.001).
Conclusion: Continuous endurance training reduced the expression of miR-146b and inflammatory cytokine genes, suggesting that this exercise modality may represent an effective non-pharmacological strategy for improving inflammatory and metabolic status in overweight and obese adolescents
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