Abstract
Aging-induced deterioration of arterial stiffness is decreased by regular exercise, and increased nitric oxide (NO) production participates in this effect. Apelin regulates endothelial NO synthase in endothelial cells, promoting NO production. However, the effect of aerobic exercise training on circulating apelin levels in healthy middle-aged and older adults remains unknown. Accordingly, this study aimed to clarify the effects of regular aerobic exercise on apelin concentrations in middle-aged and older adults. Thirty-four healthy middle-aged and older subjects (67.0 ± 1.3 years) were randomly divided into two groups: exercise intervention and sedentary controls. Subjects in the training group completed 8-week of aerobic exercise training (60–70% peak oxygen uptake [VO2peak] for 45 min, 3 days/week). Before and after the intervention, we evaluated plasma apelin and nitrite/nitrate (NOx) concentrations, VO2peak, and arterial stiffness index. In the training group, VO2peak was significantly increased, and carotid β-stiffness was significantly decreased, after the intervention (P<0.05). Moreover, plasma apelin and NOx levels were significantly increased in the training group after the intervention (P<0.05). Additionally, there was a correlation between the training effects of plasma apelin levels and carotidβ-stiffness (r = −0.508, P = 0.032) and plasma NOx levels (r = 0.494, P = 0.037). By contrast, none of these parameters changed significantly in the control group. These results suggest that the increased in plasma apelin levels may be associated with exercise training-induced alternation of arterial stiffness in middle-aged and older adults.
Highlights
Alterations in arterial structure and function occur with advancing age in healthy individuals [1], and the aging-induced decrease in endothelial function contributes to the increases in arterial stiffness [2,3,4,5]
Experimental design For all subjects, VO2 peak, body weight, body fat, height, resting systolic blood pressure (SBP), resting diastolic blood pressure (DBP), resting heart rate (HR), resting plasma NOx concentrations, resting plasma apelin concentrations, and serum concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured at the beginning and end of the experiment
This study investigated the effects of regular aerobic exercise on apelin concentrations in middle-aged and older adults before and after 8-week aerobic exercise training
Summary
Alterations in arterial structure and function occur with advancing age in healthy individuals [1], and the aging-induced decrease in endothelial function contributes to the increases in arterial stiffness [2,3,4,5]. Aerobic exercise training reduces arterial stiffness, which increases with advancing age [7,8]. Regular aerobic exercise prevents or reduces arterial stiffness. Aging impairs arterial eNOS protein and mRNA expression, eNOS expression levels are increased by endurance exercise training in aged rats [10]. In middle-aged and older woman, moderate regular exercise training elevates plasma NOx levels with reduction of blood pressure [11]. Aging impairs NO bioavailability, and it may result in increased arterial stiffness
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