High-Intensity Interval Training Minimizes the Deleterious Effects of Arterial Hypertension on the Urinary Bladder of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Arterial hypertension promotes urological complications by modifying the functional capacity of the urinary bladder. On the other hand, physical exercise has been suggested as a nonpharmacological tool to improve blood pressure regulation. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) can effectively increase peak oxygen consumption, body composition, physical fitness, and health-related characteristics of adults; however, its action on the urinary bladder is little discussed. In the present study, we verified the effect of HIIT on the modulation of the redox state, morphology, and inflammatory and apoptotic processes of the urinary bladder of hypertensive rats. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were divided into two groups: SHR sedentary and SHR submitted to HIIT. Arterial hypertension promoted an increase in the plasma redox state, modified the volume of the urinary bladder, and increased collagen deposition in detrusor muscle. It was also possible to identify, in the sedentary SHR group, an increase in inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and TNF-α in the urinary bladder, as well as a reduction in BAX expression. However, in the HIIT group, reduced blood pressure levels were observed, together with an improvement in morphology, such as a decrease in collagen deposition. HIIT also regulated the proinflammatory response, promoting increases in IL-10 and BAX expressions and in the number of plasma antioxidant enzymes. The present work highlights the intracellular pathways involved with the oxidative and inflammatory capacity of the urinary bladder and the potential effect of HIIT on the regulation of the urothelium and detrusor muscle of hypertensive rats.

Physical exercise and the functions of microRNAs.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control RNA translation and are a class of small, tissue-specific, non-protein-coding RNAs that maintain cellular homeostasis through negative gene regulation. Maintenance of the physiological environment depends on the proper control of miRNA expression, as these molecules influence almost all genetic pathways, from the cell cycle checkpoint to cell proliferation and apoptosis, with a wide range of target genes. Dysregulation of the expression of miRNAs is correlated with several types of diseases, acting as regulators of cardiovascular functions, myogenesis, adipogenesis, osteogenesis, hepatic lipogenesis, and important brain functions. miRNAs can be modulated by environmental factors or external stimuli, such as physical exercise, and can eventually induce specific and adjusted changes in the transcriptional response. Physical exercise is used as a preventive and non-pharmacological treatment for many diseases. It is well established that physical exercise promotes various benefits in the human body such as muscle hypertrophy, mental health improvement, cellular apoptosis, weight loss, and inhibition of cell proliferation. This review highlights the current knowledge on the main miRNAs altered by exercise in the skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, bone, adipose tissue, liver, brain, and body fluids. In addition, knowing the modifications induced by miRNAs and relating them to the results of prescribed physical exercise with different protocols and intensities can serve as markers of physical adaptation to training and responses to the effects of physical exercise for some types of chronic diseases. This narrative review consists of randomized exercise training experiments with humans and/or animals, combined with analyses of miRNA modulation.

Rev-erbα Knockout Reduces Ethanol Consumption and Preference in Male and Female Mice.

Alcohol use is a contributor in the premature deaths of approximately 3 million people annually. Among the risk factors for alcohol misuse is circadian rhythm disruption; however, this connection remains poorly understood. Inhibition of the circadian nuclear receptor REV-ERBα is known to disrupt molecular feedback loops integral to daily oscillations, and impact diurnal fluctuations in the expression of proteins required for reward-related neurotransmission. However, the role of REV-ERBα in alcohol and substance use-related phenotypes is unknown. Herein, we used a Rev-erbα knockout mouse line and ethanol two-bottle choice preference testing to show that disruption of Rev-erbα reduces ethanol preference in male and female mice. Rev-erbα null mice showed the lowest ethanol preference in a two-bottle choice test across all genotypes, whereas there were no ethanol preference differences between heterozygotes and wildtypes. In a separate experiment, alcohol-consuming wildtype C57Bl/6N mice were administered the REV-ERBα/ß inhibitor SR8278 (25 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg) for 7 days and alcohol preference was evaluated daily. No differences in alcohol preference were observed between the treatment and vehicle groups. Our data provides evidence that genetic variation in REV-ERBα may contribute to differences in alcohol drinking.