Abstract

Background Disruption of the function of sirtuin1 (SIRT1) has been reported to link with diabetes and metabolic disorders. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a modified high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) or continuous endurance training (CET) program on Sirt1 and PGC-1 alpha mRNA gene expression in hepatocytes of high-fat/high-fructose diet-induced diabetes in rats. Methods Twenty-eight male Wistar rats (220 +/- 20 g) were randomly divided into four groups of non-diabetic (NDC), diabetic control (received high fat high-fructose diet (HFHFD-DC)), CET (HFHFD-CET), and HIIT (HFHFD-HIIT). Diabetes was induced by feeding rats a high-fat (30) high-fructose (20) diet for 25 weeks. Following confirmed hyperglycemia, both HFHFD-CET (60-65 Vo2max) and HFHFD-HIIT (85-90 Vo2max) rats underwent treadmill exercise for 30 min, 5 days/week at 10 m/min for 8 weeks. Thereafter, blood and liver samples were obtained for biochemical studies. For histological analysis, the liver was fixed in 10 formalin, embedded in paraffin, and sectioned (5 mu m thickness) for H&E staining. SIRT-1 and PGC-1 alpha mRNA expression were measured by RT-PCR from the liver sample (frizzed sample). All data were presented as mean +/- standard error mean and compared the differences by one-way analysis of variances. The alpha level was set at 0.05 (p < 0.05) for statistical difference. Results The results show that HIIT was more effective than CET to reduce vesicular steatosis. HIIT significantly enhanced the expression of SIRT-1 compared to the HFHFD-DC group (fold change: 1.47, p < 0.047). However, HIIT decreased PGC-1 alpha expression compared to the HFHFD-DC group, but it was not significant (fold change: 1.32 and p < 0.247). Conclusions HIIT was more effective than CET in SIRT-1 expression augmentation in high-fat, high-fructose diabetic rats which suggests a possible treatment strategy in the context of type 2 diabetes.