Exercise training improves the IL-10/TNF-α cytokine balance in the gastrocnemius of rats with heart failure

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of exercise training (ExT) upon concentration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the gastrocnemius of rats with heart failure (HF) induced by left coronary artery ligation. METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats submitted to myocardial infarction (MI) or sham surgery were randomly allocated into one of four experimental groups: trained HF (Tr-HF), sedentary HF (Sed-HF), trained sham (Tr-Sham) and sedentary sham (Sed-Sham). ExT protocol was performed on treadmill for a period of 8 weeks (60 m/days, 5×/week, 16 m/min), which started 6 weeks after MI. Cardiac hemodynamic evaluations of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and morphometric cardiac were used to characterize HF. The hemodynamic variables were recorded and gastrocnemius muscle was collected. TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 protein levels were determined by multiplex bead array. RESULTS: Sed-HF group presented increase of TNF-α level when compared with the Sed-Sham group (mean difference, MD 1.3; 95% confidence interval, CI −0.04 to 2.5). ExT reduced by 59% TNF-α level in Tr-HF group (MD −1.7; 95% CI −2.9 to −0.3) and increased IL-10 (MD 15; 95% CI 11–26) when compared with the Sed-HF group. Thus, the gastrocnemius muscle IL-10/TNF-α ratio was increased in Tr-HF rats (MD 15; 95% CI −8 to 47) when compared with the Sed-HF rats. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that ExT not only attenuates TNF-α level but also improves the IL-10 cytokine level in skeletal muscle of HF rats.