Abstract
Exercise can prevent and improve the pathophysiology of diseases and promote healthy aging. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that regulate the beneficial effects of exercise may lead to the development of new strategies to enhance quality of life and to counteract chronic diseases. Voluntary wheel running is an interesting model to study the effects of exercise in mice. Compared to forced treadmill exercise, voluntary wheel running presents several advantages such as: 1) running pattern is similar to natural running behavior of mice; 2) it is performed under non-stressed conditions, according to the rhythmicity of the animal; 3) it does not require direct interference from the researcher, and can be easily applied in long-term studies. Mice run spontaneously when given access to running wheels, for a total distance of ∼4 to 20 km per day and a total activity time of ∼3 to 7 hours a day. Hence, voluntary wheel running can result in robust endurance-like adaptation in skeletal and cardiac muscles and protect from sarcopenia. However, due to the lack of control over exercise parameters in voluntary exercise models, it is important for the researcher to understand the patterns and variability of wheel running in mice, as well as the factors that can affect voluntary running activity. Overall, voluntary wheel running in mice is a very interesting approach to study the chronic adaptation to exercise, analyze the effects of exercise, and test exercise capacity in different experimental models.
Highlights
Physical exercise can prevent and ameliorate the pathophysiology of different diseases and increase health span (1)
One way to overcome this limitation is to understand the patterns and variability in voluntary wheel running activity in mice, as well as the factors affecting voluntary running activity. In this mini-review, we describe voluntary wheel running patterns in mice and its effects on exercise adaptation
In a study with rigorously controlled conditions, caloric restriction increased the amount of voluntary wheel running activity occurring during the light-cycle (17). In this same study, when mice were fed on alternate days, voluntary wheel running activity duration was higher during the fasting days, while time-restricted diets did not alter mouse running patterns (17)
Summary
Physical exercise can prevent and ameliorate the pathophysiology of different diseases and increase health span (1). In studies with adult C57BL/6J mice, the mice tend to cover longer distances per day in angled running wheels compared to upright wheels. Two studies in which male C57BL/6J mice had free access to angled disc wheels reported a total running distance of B20 km per day (11,28).
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