Author(s): LIN, Y., YANG, A., SU, C., CHENG, T., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF TAIPEI, Country: TAIWAN, Abstract-ID: 464

INTRODUCTION:
With the rapid transition in dietary patterns, the prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome has increased substantially. High-fat diet (HFD) has been shown to induce oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, thereby accelerating the development of high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. Although beneficial effects of aerobic exercise on vascular health are well documented, the protective role of resistance training (RT) on blood pressure and vascular function in metabolic syndrome remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the influences of a 12-weeks RT intervention on blood pressure regulation and endothelial function in HFD-fed spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).
METHODS:
The twelve-week-old male SHRs were randomly assigned to HFD with RT (SHR-HFD-RT) or HFD control (SHR-HFD-CON) groups. The age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats fed a normal diet were served as normotensive controls (WKY-ND-CON) group. The RT intervention was performed by ladder-climbing training at 60-80% 1RM for 12 weeks, while the control groups did not receive any training. During post-intervention, blood pressure and heart rate were recorded noninvasively. Isolated aortic rings were examined by vascular reactivity tests, including vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) for the endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vascular function, respectively.
RESULTS:
Regarding cardiovascular parameters, the SHR-HFD-RT group exhibited significantly lower heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure, compared with the SHR-HFD-CON group (p < 0.05). However, these values remained significantly higher than those of the WKY-ND-CON group (p < 0.05). In vascular reactivity tests, the SHR-HFD-RT group showed significantly improved ACh-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation compared to the SHR-HFD-CON group (p < 0.05), although the responses remained lower than the WKY-ND-CON group (p < 0.05). Removal of the endothelium completely abolished the ACh-induced vasodilation in all groups. Moreover, no significant differences in the SNP-induced endothelium-independent vasodilation were observed among three groups.
CONCLUSION:
Our findings indicated that 12-weeks RT intervention could lowers blood pressure and ameliorate endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive rats fed a high-fat diet.