Abstract
Objective: Despite the indubitable beneficial effect of exercise to prevent of cardiovascular diseases, there is still a lack of studies investigating the impact of exercise in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Here, we investigated the impact of voluntary exercise on cardiac function in a mouse model of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (αMHC-MerCreMer:Sf/Sf), induced by cardiac-specific inactivation of the Serum Response Factor.Materials and Methods: Seven days after tamoxifen injection, 20 αMHC-MerCreMer:Sf/Sf mice were assigned to sedentary (n = 8) and exercise (n = 12) groups. Seven additional αMHC-MerCreMer:Sf/Sf mice without tamoxifen injection were used as control. The exercise group performed 4 weeks of voluntary running on wheel (1.8 ± 0.12 km/day). Cardiac function, myocardial fibrosis, and mitochondrial energetic pathways were then blindly assessed.Results: Exercised mice exhibited a smaller decrease of left ventricular (LV) fractional shortening and ejection fraction compared to control mice. This was associated with a lower degree of LV remodeling in exercised mice, as shown by a lower LV end-systolic intrerventricular septal and posterior wall thickness decrease from baseline values compared to sedentary mice. Moreover, exercised mice displayed a reduced gene expression of atrial and brain natriuretic factors. These benefits were associated by a reduced level of myocardial fibrosis. In addition, exercised mice exhibited a higher mitochondrial aconitase, voltage-dependent anion-selective channel 1 and PPAR gamma coactivators-1 alpha proteins levels suggesting that the increase of mitochondrial biogenesis and/or metabolism slowed the progression of dilated cardiomyopathy in exercised animals.Conclusions: In conclusion, our results support the role of voluntary exercise to improve outcomes in non-ischemic dilated heart failure (HF) and also support its potential for a routine clinical use in the future.
Highlights
Heart failure (HF) is the common final stage of most cardiovascular disorders and despite significant advances in drug management and interventional procedures, it remains one of the highest causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide (Rodriguez et al, 2013)
Despite the improvement of medication management and interventional procedures, the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains to be addressed. This is due to the fact that in contrast to the ischemic forms of HF which can be treated with procedures such as revascularization, valve repair, or remodeling operations, the only option for DCM treatment, once the disease has reached a terminal stage of drug refractoriness remains heart transplantation (Hershberger et al, 2010)
The exercise group (SRF-HKO wheel) underwent 4 weeks of voluntary running on the wheel and daily running distance was recorded during 4 weeks
Summary
Heart failure (HF) is the common final stage of most cardiovascular disorders and despite significant advances in drug management and interventional procedures, it remains one of the highest causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide (Rodriguez et al, 2013). Despite the improvement of medication management and interventional procedures, the treatment of DCM remains to be addressed This is due to the fact that in contrast to the ischemic forms of HF which can be treated with procedures such as revascularization, valve repair, or remodeling operations, the only option for DCM treatment, once the disease has reached a terminal stage of drug refractoriness remains heart transplantation (Hershberger et al, 2010). In this setting, less invasive therapeutic and/or preventive approaches like physical activity, would signify a promising non-pharmaceutical, preventive therapeutic strategy for this category of HF patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
