Aerobic Exercise Improved Cardiac Inflammation Through Regulate <i>PKR</i>/<i>TLR </i>Pathway in Obese Rat

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a direct contributor to cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiac failure. Objectives: The goal of this study was to examine how aerobic training impacts cardiac biomarkers by analyzing the protein kinase R (PKR)/toll-like receptor (TLR) gene expression in an obesity model induced by a high-fat/fructose diet. Methods: In this study, we used 24 Wistar rats with a weight range of 204 ± 11.3 grams. They were divided into three groups: A standard diet group, a high-fat diet (HFD) with fructose group (60% fat and 25% fructose), and an obese rats group with aerobic exercise. At the end of the study, the Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A (Lp-PLA2), cystatin C, and PKR/TLR gene expression were measured in all groups. Results: Compared to the control group, the HFD with fructose increased the Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, Lp-PLA2, and cystatin C. The expression levels of TLR (P ≤ 0.001) and PKR (P ≤ 0.01) genes in the cardiac tissue of obese rats were significantly higher than those in the control group. The obese rats showed a significant decrease in PKR gene expression when following the high-fat/fructose diet plus aerobic exercise regimen. However, the obese group did not exhibit a significant difference in TLR4 gene expression compared to the HFD plus aerobic exercise rats. Conclusions: Based on the data, aerobic exercise was found to affect the PKR/TLR pathway, leading to improved cardiovascular inflammatory biomarkers in obese rats.