Mechanisms by which voluntary wheel running improves endothelial progenitor cell function in diabetic rats
BACKGROUND: Exercise therapy is a non-drug management strategy for diabetic patients and can significantly improve endothelial function. However, its effect on endothelial progenitor cells and its specific biological mechanism are still unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of voluntary wheel running on the function of endothelial progenitor cells in type 2 diabetic rats and reveal the possible mechanisms of action. METHODS: (1) Animal experiment: Sixty Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups. The control group (n=15) underwent neither modeling nor any exercise intervention. In the model group (n=15), a rat model of type 2 diabetes was established using a high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin induction, with no exercise intervention after modeling. In the model exercise group (n=15), model rats underwent voluntary wheel running for 5 days per week over 8 weeks. In the model exercise + gene silencing group (n=15), after establishing the type 2 diabetes model, rats received tail vein injection of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor-specific small interfering RNA adenovirus recombinant, and 4 hours later underwent voluntary wheel running for 5 days per week over 8 weeks. After exercise intervention, fasting blood glucose, serum insulin-like growth factor 1 and insulin levels, and insulin resistance index were measured. Thoracic aortic endothelial diastolic function was assessed by in vitro vascular ring assay. (2) Cell experiment: After exercise intervention, bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells were isolated and cultured from each group. Cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation abilities were detected by MTT assay, scratch test, and Matrigel tube formation assay. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor in cells. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, and phosphorylated protein kinase B. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Animal experiment: Compared with the control group, the model group showed increased fasting blood glucose, insulin levels, and insulin resistance index (P < 0.05), and decreased insulin-like growth factor 1 level (P < 0.05). Compared with the model exercise group, the model group and the model exercise + gene silencing group showed increased fasting blood glucose, insulin levels, and insulin resistance index (P < 0.05), and the model group showed decreased insulin-like growth factor 1 level (P < 0.05). The vascular endothelial diastolic function in the model group, model exercise group, and model exercise + gene silencing group was weaker than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and the model exercise group showed stronger vascular endothelial diastolic function than the model group and the model exercise + gene silencing group (P < 0.05). (2) Cell experiment: The proliferation, migration, and tube formation abilities of bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells and the mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor in the model group were lower than those in the control group. The proliferation, migration, and tube formation abilities of bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells and the mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor in the model exercise group were higher than those in the model group and the model exercise + gene silencing group (P < 0.05). The protein expression of insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, and phosphorylated protein kinase B in the model group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The protein expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, and phosphorylated protein kinase B in the model exercise group was higher than that in the model group and the model exercise + gene silencing group (P < 0.05), and the protein expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 was higher than that in the model group (P < 0.05). (3) These results indicate that voluntary wheel running can improve the function of endothelial progenitor cells in type 2 diabetic rats, and the mechanism is related to the activation of the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor-mediated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway.