Exercise attenuates diabetes-induced ultrastructural changes in rat cardiac tissue.
OBJECTIVE
Exercise is an effective nonpharmacological treatment in the prevention of mortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular disease in Type I diabetes. This study sought to explore the effects of endurance exercise on the ultrastructural changes seen in diabetic cardiomyopathy.


METHODS
Seven-week-old rats were divided into three groups consisting of sedentary nondiabetic control, sedentary diabetic, and exercised diabetic animals. Diabetes was induced using streptozotocin injection, and the exercised animals were run daily on a treadmill for 9 wk. Changes in heart ultrastructure were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy.


RESULTS
Ultrastructural changes in the left ventricle produced by diabetes included changes in myofibrillar arrangements, disrupted mitochondria, and increased cytoplasmic area with an increase in lipid amounts and an increase in individual collagen fiber cross-sectional surface area. Also, an increase in heterochromatin lining the nuclear envelope and an increase in invaginations of the nuclear membrane were observed in cardiomyocytes from diabetic rats when compared with the nuclei from nondiabetic cells. Exercise was found to significantly attenuate the diabetes-induced changes in collagen fibrils, cytoplasmic area, and level of mitochondrial disruption. In contrast, exercise did not appear to significantly influence myofibril volume density, lipid accumulation, or nuclear deformities.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that exercise restores specific ultrastructural characteristics of diabetic cardiomyopathy returning them toward nondiabetic phenotypes, particularly in the mitochondria and extracellular matrix proteins.
Searls
Yvonne M
YM
Departments of Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
Smirnova
Irina V
IV
Fegley
Barbara R
BR
Stehno-Bittel
Lisa
L
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003094:Collagen / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008929:Mitochondria, Heart / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009206:Myocardium / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009210:Myofibrils / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012016:Reference Values
D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D003094:Collagen