Effects of Aerobic Training on mTORC1 Gene Expression in Male Wistar Rats with Type 2 Diabetes

Objective: Although type 2 diabetes is a multifactorial illness, one of the major risk factors is the prevalence of obesity.In this context, recent genetic studies on diabetics or pre-diabetics, have shown that some of  the newly-known genes make the conditions for type 2 diabetes even in the absence of obesity. One of these genes is called mTORC1, which plays an important role in the synthesis of beta cells. This study examined the effect of 12 weeks aerobic training on the mTORC1 expression, glucose, serum insulin and beta-cell function on diabetic male Wistar rats Materials and Methods: To evaluate the effect of exercise activities on expression of this gene, 30 male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: healthy control, diabetic control and diabetic training group. The two groups of diabetic control and exercise were diabetic with nicotinamide and streptozotocin injecting, and the training group participated in aerobic training on a treadmill for 12 weeks. Results: The results of the study showed that expression of mTORC1 gene increased significantly after 12 weeks of aerobic training, which resulted in a significant decrease in blood glucose concentration and increased beta cell function. Conclusion: Regarding the results of this research and previous studies, the participation in sport exercises, and especially aerobic exercises, increased the expression of mTORC1 gene, increased the synthesis of beta cells, and ultimately control and treatment of type 2 diabetes.