Cardioprotective effect of a moderate and prolonged exercise training involves sirtuin pathway.

AIM: To investigate the cardioprotective effects of prolonged and moderate exercise training on cellular and molecular events early after myocardial infarction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats were divided in sedentary or exercised group; both groups underwent to a myocardial infarction. All the molecular and immunohistochemical analyses on hearts of sedentary and exercised rats were performed 48 h after surgical procedure. SIRT1 and SIRT3 expression were measured and two of the pathways activated by sirtuins, p53-induced apoptosis and Forkhead boxO (FOXO)3a-induced oxidative stress, were investigated. All the experiments were performed also in presence of the SIRT inhibitor, EX527.

KEY FINDINGS: Fourty-eight hours post myocardial infarction, exercise training induced the activation of SIRT1 and SIRT3 pathway reducing cardiomyocytes apoptosis and oxidative damage. Molecular data were confirmed by immunohistochemical evaluations. These effects are more evident in border infarcted zone than in the remote myocardium.

SIGNIFICANCE: Exercise training is a non-pharmacological prevention strategy in cardiovascular diseases and the sirtuins family seems to be as novel and attractive target in cardioprotection.