Antioxidant administration inhibits exercise-induced thymocyte apoptosis in rats.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of antioxidant on exercise-induced apoptosis in rat thymocytes.


METHODS
After exercise at 13.8 m x min(-1) for 60-90 min x d(-1) on a motor-driven drum exerciser for 2 consecutive days, rat thymocyte apoptosis was monitored by the feature of DNA fragmentation. To study the effect of antioxidant, rats were administered with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) for 7 d before exercise.


RESULTS
Exercise could induce thymocyte DNA fragmentation as detected on electrophoretic gel and by cell death detection ELISA kit. Further studies indicated that pretreatment with antioxidant BHA to rats resulted in a blockage of exercise-induced DNA fragmentation. The concentrations of glutathione (GSH) were not significantly changed in rat thymocytes after exercise with or without BHA treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that reactive oxygen species may play a role in thymocyte apoptosis induced by exercise. However, changes in GSH levels were not observed in this exercise model.
Lin
Y S
YS
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China. yslin1@mail.ncku.edu.tw
Kuo
H L
HL
Kuo
C F
CF
Wang
S T
ST
Yang
B C
BC
Chen
H I
HI
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight; D002083:Butylated Hydroxyanisole / Q000494:pharmacology; D002452:Cell Count / Q000187:drug effects; D016923:Cell Death; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005978:Glutathione / Q000032:analysis; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*
D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002083:Butylated Hydroxyanisole; D005978:Glutathione