Introduction and Purpose: The use of exercise training to correct metabolic disorders and treat diseases has become widespread. This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of resistance training on the expression of AMPK, mTORC1, and P70S6K1 genes in the adipose tissue of obese diabetic male mice.
Materials and Methods: Eighteen healthy male Wistar rats, averaging eight weeks in age and weighing 187.5 ± 9.37 g, were fed a high-fat diet for eight weeks. Six rats were designated as the obese control (OC) group, while the remaining twelve were induced to develop diabetes after the eight-week high-fat diet. Type 2 diabetes was induced via intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The diabetic male rats were then divided into two groups of six: the diabetic control (DC) group and the diabetic resistance training (RT) group. Resistance training, performed five days a week at an intensity of 50 to 120% of body weight, was conducted over the eight weeks. Real-time PCR was employed to measure the expression levels of AMPK, mTORC1, and P70S6K1 genes in adipose tissue. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test were utilized to assess differences between groups, with a significance level set at P < 0.05.
Results: The results indicated a significant difference among the groups concerning the expression of AMPK, mTORC1, and P70S6K1 genes in the adipose tissue of male mice (P = 0.001). Tukey's post hoc test revealed that the expression of these genes in the adipose tissue of the DC group was significantly reduced compared to the OC group (P = 0.001). Additionally, a significant increase in the expression of the aforementioned genes was observed in the RT group compared to the DC group (P = 0.001). Furthermore, the DC group exhibited significant increases in weight and insulin resistance compared to the OC group. In contrast, resistance training significantly reduced both weight and insulin resistance in obese diabetic mice (P = 0.001).
Conclusion: Resistance training can be considered an effective strategy for improving the expression of AMPK, mTORC1, and P70S6K1 genes, thereby reducing disorders related to overweight, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.