Effect of Resistance Exercise and Liposomal Vitamin C on Some Factors of Mitochondrial Dynamics and Biogenesis

Abstract

Objective: Aging is associated with some changes in the liver function including increased collagen deposition and decreased mitochondrial function. This study aims to evaluate the effect of resistance exercise and vitamin C intake on the expression of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-Γ Coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and Mitofusin 1 (MFn1) genes and collagen deposition in older rats. Methods: This is an experimental study conducted on 25 male Wistar rats aged 24 weeks and weighted 280-320 g. They were randomly divided into five groups of young control, older exercise, older vitamin C, older exercise + vitamin C, and older control. In the supplementation groups, rats were given liposomal vitamin C (100 mg/kg per body weight) by gavage daily. One-way ANOVA was used to examine the difference between the groups and Tukey’s post hoc test was used to determine the location of group differences. For all analyses, the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Aging significantly reduced the expression of PGC-1α and MFn1 and increased collagen deposition in the liver tissue of rats (P=0.001). In the older exercise + vitamin C group, a significant increase in PGC-1α expression was observed compared to the older control group (P=0.001), but there was no significant changes in MFn1 expression. A significant decrease in collagen deposition was reported in the older exercise, older vitamin C, and older exercise + vitamin C groups compared to the older control group (P=0.001). Conclusion: Resistance exercise combined with vitamin C intake reduces collagen deposition in liver tissue and increases PGC-1α expression in older rats.