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Partial persistence of exercise-induced myocardial angiogenesis following 4-week detraining in the rat

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Abstract

Enhanced angiogenesis, or capillary growth, has a prominent role among the various beneficial effects of exercise training on the myocardium. The aim of the present study is to assess if training-induced increases in capillarity and vascularization persist after 4 weeks of detraining. Adult male rats were trained to run on a treadmill for 10 weeks at ∼60% VO2max, which did not induce cardiac hypertrophy, but increased (P < 0.05) the soleus/body weight ratio, left ventricle capillarity and von Willebrand-positive cell density (n = 6). In another group of animals (n = 6) subjected to training followed by 4-week detraining, the soleus/body weight ratio returned to normal, with only partial reversal of left ventricle capillarity and von Willebrand-positive cell density. Markers of angiogenesis (VEGF, KDR/VEGF-R2 and HIF-1α mRNA, studied by real-time RT-PCR) were upregulated at the end of training, and returned to baseline value after detraining. Electron microscopy highlighted some morphological features in trained hearts (endothelial cell sprouting and bridges and pericyte detachment), suggestive of endothelial cell proliferation and capillary growth that were absent in untrained and detrained hearts. We conclude that the training-induced increase in cardiac capillarity and vascularization are retained for some time upon cessation of the training program even in the absence of angiogenic stimuli.

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Abbreviations

VEGF:

Vascular endothelial growth factor

VEGF-R2:

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2

bFGF:

Basic fibroblast growth factor

HIF-1:

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (PRIN 2004054720) and from the Cariplo Foundation (2005 Project).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Histology, Embryology and Applied Biology, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro, 8, Bologna, Italy

    Marina Marini, Rosa Lapalombella, Simona di Tullio & Cosetta Marchionni

  2. Istituto Interuniversitario di Miologia, Chieti, Italy

    Marina Marini & Arsenio Veicsteinas

  3. Institute of Morphological Sciences, University of Urbino, Urbino, Italy

    Elisabetta Falcieri & Sabrina Burattini

  4. IGM-CNR, Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy

    Elisabetta Falcieri

  5. Institute of Physical Exercise, Health and Sport Activities, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Vittoria Margonato, Fabio Esposito & Arsenio Veicsteinas

  6. Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Davide Treré

  7. Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Michele Samaja

  8. Center of Sport Medicine, Don Gnocchi Foundation, Milan, Italy

    Arsenio Veicsteinas

Authors
  1. Marina Marini
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  2. Elisabetta Falcieri
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  3. Vittoria Margonato
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  4. Davide Treré
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  5. Rosa Lapalombella
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  9. Michele Samaja
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  11. Arsenio Veicsteinas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marina Marini.

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Marini, M., Falcieri, E., Margonato, V. et al. Partial persistence of exercise-induced myocardial angiogenesis following 4-week detraining in the rat. Histochem Cell Biol 129, 479–487 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-007-0373-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-007-0373-8

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