The Effect of 8 Weeks of High-Intensity Interval Training on the Gene Expression of Hepatokines in Male Wistar Rats with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Objectives: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely associated with hepatokines such as fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), follistatin, and leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2), which play roles in regulating liver metabolism. Exercise training has been proposed as a non-pharmacological approach for managing NAFLD. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the gene expression of hepatokines in a dexamethasone-induced animal model of NAFLD.

Materials and Methods: In this study, 24 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups of 8 rats each: 1- healthy control, 2- fatty liver control, 3- fatty liver + high-intensity interval training. Except for the healthy control group, disease induction was performed in the other groups. The high-intensity interval training protocol was implemented incrementally for 8 weeks, 5 sessions per week. Hepatic gene expression of FGF21, follistatin, and LECT2 was measured using real-time PCR, and data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance.

Results: The results showed no significant differences in the gene expression levels of follistatin and LECT2 among the study groups, although the relative expression of the FGF-21 gene was higher in the fatty liver control group compared to the healthy control, but it was not statistically significant P ≤ 0.05.

Discussion: Despite improvements in overall health indices, HIIT did not alter the gene expression of hepatokines in the dexamethasone-induced NAFLD model. The results suggest that observing significant changes in hepatokine gene expression may require longer training periods, more standardized NAFLD models, or different training modalities.