The Effect of an 8-Week Endurance Training Program on the Content of FOXO3a and Beclin-1 Proteins in Heart Muscle of Rats With Type 2 Diabetes

Background The FOXO3a/Beclin-1 pathway is an important pathway in autophagy that can be impaired in diabetic patients who are prone to cardiomyopathy. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an 8-week endurance training program on the content of FOXO3a and Beclin-1 proteins in the heart muscle tissue of rats with type 2 diabetes. Methods This experimental study was conducted on 12 male two-month-old Sprague Dawley rats with a mean weight of 270±20 g. After diabetic induction by streptozotocin and nicotinamide, rats were randomly assigned into two groups of diabetic-exercise (n=6) and diabetic-control (n=6). The diabetic-exercise group received intervention 4 days per week, each session for 42 minutes at a speed of 10-30 m/m for 8 weeks, while the control group received no any training program. The rats did not receive any insulin treatment during the study. Collected data were analyzed using independent t-test at a significance level of P≤0.05. Findings No significant changes were observed in the content of FOXO3a (P=0.12) and Beclin-1 (P=0.34) proteins in the training group compared to the control group after intervention. Conclusion The endurance training can not affect the content of FOXO3a and Beclin-1 proteins. Therefore, it seems that endurance training may not affect autophagy signaling in the heart muscle of type 2 diabetic patients.