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Aerobic Exercise Prevents Insulin Resistance Through the Regulation of miR-492/Resistin Axis in Aortic Endothelium

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Abstract

Previously, we found that miR-492 delayed the progression of atherosclerosis (AS) by acting as an up-stream regulator of resistin. Therefore, we hypothesized that the anti-atherogenic effects of exercise are related to miR-492-mediated downregulation of resistin and repair of endothelial injury. In this study, we investigated the effects of the miR-492/resistin axis on improving endothelial injury in ApoE−/− mice (ApoE-deficient/knockout in C57BL/6 mice) through swimming exercises. Our results showed that the severity of AS and insulin resistance (IR) in these mice were significantly reduced by swimming exercises. In addition, miR-492 expression in the aortic endothelium of ApoE−/− mice was decreased, in addition to increased levels of resistin. Interestingly, swimming exercises increased miR-492 expression while decreasing that of resistin. Taken together, swimming exercises delayed the progression of AS, possibly by upregulating miR-492 and downregulating resistin in aortic endothelium. Therefore, exercises modulated glucose and lipid metabolism, alleviated endothelial IR, and repaired endothelial injury.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the reviewers for their helpful comments on this paper.

Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant number: 2016JJ6160) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 81501955).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation, Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Xiang-Ya Road 87, 410008, Changsha, Hunan Province, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Cai, Kang-Ling Xie, Fan Zheng & Sui-Xin Liu

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  1. Ying Cai
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  2. Kang-Ling Xie
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  3. Fan Zheng
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Correspondence to Sui-Xin Liu.

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Ethical Approval

All animal experiments in this study complied with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the Animal Care and Ethics Committee of Central South University. All efforts were made to minimize the suffering of the animals included in the current study.

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Associate Editor Junjie Xiao oversaw the review of this article

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Cai, Y., Xie, KL., Zheng, F. et al. Aerobic Exercise Prevents Insulin Resistance Through the Regulation of miR-492/Resistin Axis in Aortic Endothelium. J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. 11, 450–458 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-018-9828-7

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