Aerobic training prevents oxidative profile and improves nitric oxide and vascular reactivity in rats with cardiometabolic alteration

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death worldwide; therefore it is important to understand the natural history of the pathophysiologic process and develop strategies to halt its progression. Thus this study investigated the protective effect of aerobic training on pathophysiological mechanisms involved in subclinical cardiometabolic alterations in a model with constant exposure to a prejudicial agent. Male Wistar rats were divided into a control group (C), which received drinking water, fructose group (F), which was fed 10% fructose in drinking water for 10 wk, and control training (CT) and fructose training groups (FT), in which moderate aerobic training was added in the last 8 wk of the study. Insulin, triacylglycerol, and isoprostane were higher and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was lower in the F group. There was no difference in thoracic aorta histology, but a decreased vascularization was seen in the F group, avoided by training in left ventricle. Regarding vascular function, the F group exhibited increased vasoconstrictory reactivity to phenylephrine. The F group presented impaired vasodilation to acetylcholine. Regarding endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), the F group presented a lower expression, and phosphorylated eNOS was higher in the trained groups than in their respective control groups. This same pattern was observed for nitric oxide bioavailability, antioxidant protein expression in aorta, left ventricle, and muscle (catalase, SOD, and glutathione peroxidase), serum SOD activity, and muscle mass. These results suggest that exercise training enhanced the antioxidant pathway and, as a consequence, the eNOS pathway, preventing an impairment in vascular vasodilatory capacity.