High-intensity interval training improved fasting blood glucose and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetic rats more than endurance training; possible involvement of irisin and betatrophin

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of 10 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and endurance training (END) on irisin, betatrophin, insulin, fasting blood glucose (FBG) concentrations, and lipid profiles in diabetic rats. Twenty-four Wistar rats (weight: 200-250g) were randomly assigned into four groups as follows: (1)control (Cnt), (2)diabetic (Dibt), (3)diabetic HIIT (Dibt-HIIT), and (4)diabetic END (Dibt-END). For inducing diabetes, after 12h of food starvation, nicotinamide (120mg/kg) and streptozotocin (STZ; 65mg/kg) were intraperitoneally injected. The diabetic training groups received 10 weeks of HIIT or END training following the induction of diabetes. Twenty-four hours following the last training session, blood serum samples were collected for evaluating the concentration of irisin, betatrophin, and insulin hormones through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. FBG and lipid profiles were measured by biochemical kits. A significant increase in the serum concentration of irisin (p < 0.05), betatrophin (p < 0.05), and insulin (p < 0.001) and significant decrease in the FBG (P < 0.01) and lipid profiles (p < 0.01) were observed in the Dibt-HIIT group compared to the Dibt-END group. In addition, irisin revealed a significant positive association with betatrophin and insulin values in diabetic training groups (p < 0.01). It seems that HIIT leads to a more extensive improvement in diabetic conditions compared to the END training. Therefore, HIIT appears to be an important time-efficient approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.