title: The effect of chronic physical exercise on succinic dehydrogenase activity in the heart muscle of old rats.
abstract: Succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) activity, preferentially evidenced by cytochemical methods, has been measured by computer-assisted morphometry in the heart muscle of old sedentary and age-matched animals chronically undergone physical exercise (20 min, twice a day, 5 days a week). The area of the SDH-positive mitochondria (MA) and the overall area of the cytochemical precipitates due to SDH activity (PA) were semiautomatically measured and the ratios PA/MA as well as MA/overall myocardial tissue area analysed (MA/TA) were the parameters taken into account. No significant difference was found between the two groups investigated as regards PA/MA, whereas the MA/TA value is significantly increased in the animals undergone physical training. The present findings document that chronic physical exercise significantly increases the overall mitochondrial area involved in energy provision in the old myocardial tissue. Considering that myocardial function highly relies on mitochondrial metabolism, our results support a beneficial effect of chronic physical exercise on the old heart muscle.
authors: INRCA Research Department, Neurobiology of Aging Laboratory, Ancona, Italy.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Balietti
authors: Patrizia
authors: P
authors: Fattoretti
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Skalicky
authors: Andrus
authors: A
authors: Viidik
authors: Belinda
authors: B
authors: Giorgetti
authors: Yessica
authors: Y
authors: Grossi
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: Bertoni-Freddari
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000201:enzymology*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000379:methods*; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase