Characterizing the Effects of Voluntary Wheel Running on Cardiac SERCA Function in Ovariectomized Mice

The sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) actively transports into the sarcoplasmic to facilitate cardiac muscle relaxation. Phospholamban (PLN) allosterically inhibits SERCA, and an imbalance of SERCA2a, dominant isoform, PLN content disrupts homeostasis contractility. A previous study has shown that ovariectomized (OVX) rats have reduced SERCA activity due lowered SERCA2a increased content. Furthermore, it was found forced treadmill running in OVX restored protein levels. Here, we investigated whether voluntary wheel (VWR) would produce similar effects on function mice. Female mice were divided following groups for 8 weeks: SHAM; OVX; SHAM + VWR; VWR (n = 10/group). uptake assays performed homogenates. Protein levels SERCA2, PLN, pPLN determined via Western blot analysis. We statistical interactions uptake, maximal activity, where these parameters but not detected a main effect content, ran significantly less than mice, suggesting estrogen deprivation lack regular exercise may blunt aerobic function.