Exercise Training Attenuates Upregulation of p47(phox) and p67(phox) in Hearts of Diabetic Rats

Exercise training (ExT) is currently being used as a nonpharmacological strategy to improve cardiac function in diabetic patients. However, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying its beneficial effects remains poorly understood. Oxidative stress is known to play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy and one of the enzyme systems that produce reactive oxygen species is NADH/NADPH oxidase. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetes on expression of p47(phox) and p67(phox), key regulatory subunits of NADPH oxidase, in cardiac tissues and determine whether ExT can attenuate these changes. Four weeks after STZ treatment, expression of p47(phox) and p67(phox) increased 2.3-fold and 1.6-fold, respectively, in left ventricles of diabetic rats and these increases were attenuated with three weeks of ExT, initiated 1 week after onset of diabetes. In atrial tissues, there was increased expression of p47(phox) (74%), which was decreased by ExT in diabetic rats. Furthermore, increased collagen III levels in diabetic hearts (52%) were significantly reduced by ExT. Taken together, ExT attenuates the increased expression of p47(phox) and p67(phox) in the hearts of diabetic rats which could be an underlying mechanism for improving intracardiac matrix and thus cardiac function and prevent cardiac remodeling in diabetic cardiomyopathy.