Project Details
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common diseases in the United States, affecting almost 25% of the U.S. population. A diet high in fat and fructose has been linked to NAFLD and associated with metabolic distress, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. While there is no cure for NAFLD, growing evidence has emerged that endurance exercise protects the liver against NAFLD through the restoration of liver function. However, the mechanisms of exercise-induced hepatic protection remain an unresolved topic. The present study investigated if endurance exercise-induced autophagy attenuates high-fat/fructose diet-induced premature senescence (aging), metabolic dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the liver of mice. Female mice (n=33) were divided into three groups: control group (CON, n=11), high-fat + high fructose group (HFD+HF, n=11), and high-fat + high fructose + exercise group (HFD+HF+EXE, n=11). The mice assigned to HFD+HF and HFD+HF+EXE groups were fed with HFD and HF for 12 weeks, after which the mice assigned to the exercise group began habituation to treadmill running for five days. After the habituation, the mice started treadmill running exercise for 12 weeks (60 min a day, five days a week), with a diet in HFD/HF continued. Our study showed that that endurance exercise promoted autophagy (e.g., an increase in LC3-II and reduction in p60 proteins), enhanced insulin signaling and fatty acid transportation, and prevented hepatic senescence (e.g., a reduction in p53, p22, and p16). Also, exercise improved mitochondrial biogenesis and antioxidative capacity (e.g., an increase in GPX and reduction in NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) expression and prevented upregulation of hepatic pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-a and IL-1b. More importantly, EXE promoted cell turnover by apoptosis. This study suggests that exercise-induced autophagy may play a crucial role in the prevention of NAFLD-induced hepatic senescence and inflammation.
Reference:
Cook, J., Wei, M., Segovia-Ruiz, B., Cosio-Lima, L.M., Lee, Y. (18-19Feb2021), Virtual Poster Presentation (Cook, J.). Endurance exercise prevents metabolic distress-mediated hepatic senescence via promoting autophagy. 2021 American College of Sports Medicine Southeast Chapter (SEACSM) Annual Meeting.
Project Highlights
✅ 2021 Southeast American College of Sports Medicine (SEACSM) Annual Meeting Virtual Poster Presentation
