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The effect of interval and continuous training on leptin receptor ‎expression in brain tissue and calorie intake in aged diabetic rats

Document Type : Article

Authors

1 Department of Sport physiology, ‎Behbahan Branch, Islamic Azad ‎University, Behbahan, Iran‎

2 Department of Veterinary, Behbahan ‎Branch, Islamic Azad University, ‎Behbahan, Iran

10.30473/eab.2025.71559.1956

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases with a high prevalence that increases with age. It is predicted that by 2030, more than 360 million people in the world will have diabetes. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of intermittent and continuous training on leptin receptor expression in brain tissue and food intake in aged rats. This basic and experimental research was conducted on 32 female Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: healthy control, diabetic control, intermittent training, and continuous training, with each group consisting of 8 samples. The training protocols involved were tailored to test the specific impact of different exercise regimens. The intermittent training group underwent a regime of high-intensity interval training, while the continuous training group engaged in steady-state, moderate-intensity exercise. The control groups did not participate in any structured physical activity. Following the training period, leptin levels and food intake were meticulously measured. Leptin gene expression in the brain tissue was assessed using Real-Time PCR, a highly sensitive and specific method for quantifying gene expression. Food intake was monitored and recorded at the beginning and end of the study period. The results demonstrated a statistically significant increase in leptin gene expression in the brain tissue of the rats subjected to intermittent training (P=0.001). This suggests that intermittent training may more effectively stimulate molecular pathways associated with leptin receptor expression compared to continuous training. Furthermore, a significant difference in food intake was observed between the groups after the eight-week training period (P=0.001). Tukey’s post hoc analysis revealed a significant difference between the high-intensity interval training and continuous training groups in terms of leptin expression (P=0.03), indicating that the type and intensity of training can differentially influence leptin receptor dynamics. Additionally, food intake in the diabetic control group was significantly higher compared to the training groups (P=0.001), suggesting that physical activity can mitigate hyperphagia in diabetic conditions. However, both interval and continuous training exerted a similar effect on overall food intake (P=0.58), implying that while the type of exercise influences leptin expression, the regulation of food consumption might be governed by other compensatory mechanisms. In conclusion, the findings underscore the significant impact of intermittent training on leptin gene expression in brain tissue of aged rats, highlighting its potential advantages over continuous training in modulating molecular markers linked to energy homeostasis. Nonetheless, both training modalities exhibited comparable effects on food intake, emphasizing the complexity of exercise-induced metabolic regulation.

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References
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Experimental animal Biology
Volume 13, Issue 2 - Serial Number 50
March 2025
Pages 45-55
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