Endurance Exercise Effects on Cardiac Hypertrophy in Mice

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of eight weeks of an endurance exercise training program on cardiac hypertrophy in mice. [Subjects] Male 129 SvJ/C57BL6 mice (n=12) were used. The exercised mice ran on a motor-driven treadmill five days per week for 40 minutes at a speed of 24 m/min for eight weeks. All mice were weighed once a week to monitor excessive increases or decreases in weight. Peak weight was determined as the highest weekly recorded weight. Post-training weight was also taken on the day of final data collection. Following body weight measurement, the heart was excised from the body and weighed. The ratio of heart weight to body weight was calculated as an indicator of cardiac hypertrophy in the current study. Using an independent t test, the ratio of heart weight to body weight was compared between the exercised mice and the sedentary mice. [Results] The results show that the untrained mice had a significantly greater heart weight to body weight ratio compared with the wild-type mice. There was also a significant difference in body weight between the exercised and sedentary groups. The ratio of heart weight to body weight was lower in the untrained mice, but no significance was observed. [Conclusion] Running on the motor- driven treadmill five days per week for 40 minutes at a speed of 24 m/min for eight weeks did not increase in the ratio of heart weight to body weight in mice compared with the sedentary.