Synergistic Effect of 4 Weeks of Endurance Training With Probiotic Supplementation on the Expression of Atrogin-1 and Murf-1 Genes in the Soleus Muscle of Diabetic Rats

Background: One of the most common problems in diabetic patients is muscle atrophy. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the synergistic effect of endurance training with probiotic supplementation on Atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 genes gene expression in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats. Methods: In this study, 32 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into one normal control (NC) and four diabetic groups: diabetic control (DC), diabetic supplement (SDC), diabetic training (TD), and diabetic supplement training (STD). The training protocol was performed with 60 to 65% of maximum speed reached five days a week for four weeks. At the same time, rats took two grams of probiotic dissolved in 30 ml of water daily. Expression of Atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 genes was measured by the qReal-TimePCR method. Data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance at the significant level of P≤0.05. Results: Atrogin-1 gene expression was significantly reduced in TD (P=0.001) and STD (P=0.000) groups compared to DC group. There was a significant difference between TD and STD groups in the expression of the Atrogin-1 gene (P=0.028). MuRF-1 gene expression was significantly reduced in TD (P=0.04) and STD (P=0.01) groups compared to DC. But there was no significant difference between TD and STD groups in MuRF-1 gene expression (P=0.36). Conclusion: It seems that performing the aerobic exercise with probiotic supplementation is more effective in reducing the expression of the Atrogin-1 gene than any of these interventions alone. However, aerobic exercise with probiotic supplementation does not have a synergistic effect on reducing MuRF-1 gene expression in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats compared to aerobic exercise alone.