Moderate-intensity continuous training reduces triglyceridemia and improves oxygen consumption in dyslipidemic apoCIII transgenic mice

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate metabolism modulation and dyslipidemia in genetic dyslipidemic mice through physical exercise. Thirty-four male C57Bl/6 mice aged 15 months were divided into non-transgenic (NTG) and transgenic overexpressing apoCIII (CIII) groups. After treadmill adaptation, the trained groups (NTG Ex and CIII Ex) underwent an effort test to determine running performance and assess oxygen consumption (V̇O2), before and after the training protocol. The exercised groups went through an 8-week moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) program, consisting of 40 min of treadmill running at 60% of the peak velocity achieved in the test, three times per week. At the end of the training, animals were euthanized, and tissue samples were collected for ex vivo analysis. ApoCIII overexpression led to hypertriglyceridemia (P<0.0001) and higher concentrations of total plasma cholesterol (P<0.05), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P<0.01), and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol (P<0.0001) in the animals. Furthermore, the transgenic mice exhibited increased adipose mass (P<0.05) and higher V̇O2peak compared to their NTG controls (P<0.0001). Following the exercise protocol, MICT decreased triglyceridemia and cholesterol levels in dyslipidemic animals (P<0.05), and reduced adipocyte size (P<0.05), increased muscular glycogen (P<0.001), and improved V̇O2 in all trained animals (P<0.0001). These findings contribute to our understanding of the effects of moderate and continuous exercise training, a feasible non-pharmacological intervention, on the metabolic profile of genetically dyslipidemic subjects.