Preconditioning Effects of Forced and Voluntary Running on Stress– and Indomethacin–induced Gastric Injury in Rats

Abstract

Physical activity and, especially, running, is natural stressor which is increasingly recommended as preconditioning for prevention of the number of diseases. Although regular physical activity can be beneficial in the prevention and the management of several diseases, the intensive exercise may promote or exacerbate the gastrointestinal injury. The aim of the study was to investigate preconditioning effects of forced and voluntary running on a vulnerability of the gastric mucosa to ulcerogenic action of cold‐restraint stress (3 h, 10°C) or indomethacin (IM, 35 mg/kg, sc). For forced treadmill (0 incline) running two protocols were used: high‐intensity (25 sm/s, 30 min) and moderate‐intensity (15 sm/s, 15 min) running. For voluntary running the rats were placed in the cages with wheels (2 h/day) during 4 days before experiment. On a Day of experiment preliminary fasted (24 h) rats were subjected forced running in treadmill or voluntary running in the wheel (2 h), then, they were given back in their cages and resting at room temperature for 1 h before the onset of ulcerogenic stimulus. Control animals were in their rcages, but they were also given ulcerogenic stimulus. Stress‐induced and IM‐induced gastric erosions were examined 3 h after the onset of cold‐restraint or 4 h after IM administration, respectively. A single high‐intensity treadmill session attenuated IM‐induced gastric erosions but aggravated stress‐induced gastric erosions. A single moderate‐intensity treadmill session didn’t influence IM or stress‐induced gastric injury, but moderate‐intensity treadmill in training regime (during 4 days before experiment) attenuated stress‐induced gastric erosions. Voluntary wheel running resulted in a decrease of IM‐induced erosions but an increase of stress‐induced gastric injury. The results obtained suggest that moderate‐intensity treadmill running in training regime exerts gastroprotective effect on stress‐induced gastric injury whereas by high‐intensity treadmill running as well as voluntary wheel running has proulcerogenic action in this model. At the same time high‐intensity treadmill as well as voluntary wheel running produced gastroprotective effect on IM‐induced gastric erosions. Thus, preconditioning effect of forced or voluntary running on the gastric injury is dependent on an intensity of treadmill running as well as a nature of ulcerogenic stimulus. We suppose that a significance of the compensatory gastroprotective action of glucocorticoids during IM‐induced prostaglandin deficiency which was demonstrated in our previous studies may explain the gastroprotective effects of the preconditioning in the IM ulcerogenic model.Support or Funding InformationThe study was supported by grant of Russian Science Foundation (RSF) N 19‐15‐00430.