Experimental animal models of exercise training, including treadmill, voluntary wheel running, and swim training, are used to study exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy, each with distinct advantages.
This review summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of various animal models used to study exercise-induced physiological cardiac hypertrophy.
Exercise training-induced cardiac hypertrophy occurs following a program of aerobic endurance exercise training and it is considered as a physiologically beneficial adaptation. To investigate the underlying biology of physiological hypertrophy, we rely on robust experimental models of exercise training in laboratory animals that mimic the training response in humans. A number of experimental strategies have been established, such as treadmill and voluntary wheel running and swim training models that all associate with cardiac growth. These approaches have been applied to numerous animal models with various backgrounds. However, important differences exist between these experimental approaches, which may affect the interpretation of the results. Here, we review the various approaches that have been used to experimentally study exercise training-induced cardiac hypertrophy; including the advantages and disadvantages of the various models.
Wang et al. (2010) conducted a review in Exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy. Animal models of exercise training was evaluated. Experimental animal models of exercise training, including treadmill, voluntary wheel running, and swim training, are used to study exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy, each with distinct advantages.