title: Effects of High Intensity Interval Training on Pregnant Rats, and the Placenta, Heart and Liver of Their Fetuses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on the maternal heart, fetuses and placentas of pregnant rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to HIIT or sedentary control groups. The HIIT group was trained for 6 weeks with 10 bouts of high intensity uphill running on a treadmill for four minutes (at 85-90% of maximal oxygen consumption) for five days/week. After three weeks of HIIT, rats were mated. After six weeks (gestational day 20 in pregnant rats), echocardiography was performed to evaluate maternal cardiac function. Real-time PCR was performed for the quantification of gene expression, and oxidative stress and total antioxidant capacity was assessed in the tissue samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal heart weight and systolic function were not affected by HIIT or pregnancy. In the maternal heart, expression of 11 of 22 genes related to cardiac remodeling was influenced by pregnancy but none by HIIT. Litter size, fetal weight and placental weight were not affected by HIIT. Total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde content, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity measured in the placenta, fetal heart and liver were not influenced by HIIT. HIIT reduced the expression of eNOS (p = 0.03), hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (p = 0.04) and glutathione peroxidase 4.2 (p = 0.02) in the fetal liver and increased the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-β (p = 0.014), superoxide dismutase 1 (p = 0.001) and tissue inhibitor of metallopeptidase 3 (p = 0.049) in the fetal heart.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal cardiac function and gene expression was not affected by HIIT. Although HIIT did not affect fetal growth, level of oxidative stress and total antioxidant capacity in the fetal tissues, some genes related to oxidative stress were altered in the fetal heart and liver indicating that protective mechanisms may be activated.
authors.affiliation: Women's Health and Perinatology Research Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.|Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Nils Thomas
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Songstad
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway.|Pediatric Research Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Knut-Helge Frostmo
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kaspersen
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Group, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Science, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Anne Dragøy
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Hafstad
authors.affiliation: Women's Health and Perinatology Research Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Purusotam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Basnet
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Group, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Science, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Kirsti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ytrehus
authors.affiliation: Women's Health and Perinatology Research Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Ganesh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Acharya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D006321:Heart / Q000196:embryology*; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology*; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000737:chemistry; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D000080662:Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D010920:Placenta / Q000196:embryology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1; D019717:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-3 / Q000378:metabolism; D042561:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; C497444:Hif1a protein, rat; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D019717:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-3; C581256:VEGFB protein, rat; D042561:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D000080662:Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; C523860:glutathione peroxidase 4, rat; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; C496316:Nos3 protein, rat; C000606292:Sod1 protein, rat; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1