Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under (CC BY-NC) license

Authors

• Hadi Golpasandi ¹
• Mohammad Rahman Rahimi ²
• Mohammad Farhangian ³
• Mohammad Bagher Mavaeian ²
• Fatemeh Rohi ²

¹ Postdoctoral Researcher in exercise Physiology, Department of exercise Physiology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

² Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

³ Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide and is associated with cardiovascular complications, including diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Galectin-3 (Gal-3) and sST2 are considered biomarkers of cardiac fibrosis and stress. This study aimed to investigate the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on the levels of these biomarkers in rats with DCM.
Methodology: The present experimental study was conducted using a post-test design. Thirty-two male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: healthy control (HC, n=8), diabetic control (DC, n=8), diabetic+MICT (n=8), and diabetic+HIIT (n=8). Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) injection. An 8-week training protocol (5 sessions per week) was implemented. Serum levels of Gal-3 and sST2 were measured using ELISA. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (p<0.05).
Results: Diabetes induction significantly increased glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, Gal-3, and sST2 levels in the DC group compared to the HC group (p<0.001). After 8 weeks of training, the D+HIIT and D+MICT groups showed significant reductions in Gal-3 levels (38.1% and 33.5%, respectively) and sST2 levels (52% and 41.1%, respectively) compared to the DC group (p<0.001). Additionally, the HIIT group showed a greater reduction in sST2 compared to the MICT group (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Both HIIT and MICT reduced Gal-3 and sST2 levels in diabetic rats. HIIT demonstrated a relative superiority in reducing sST2 and can be recommended as an effective approach for managing DCM.

Keywords

• Diabetic cardiomyopathy
• high-intensity interval training
• moderate-intensity continuous training
• Galectin-3 and sST21

Main Subjects

• Response and adaptation to exercises