Objective: 

Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury affects not only the intestines but also remote organs due to activated neutrophils and formation of free radicals. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of exercise preconditioning on heart and lung injury in intestinal IR induced rats.

Methods: 

Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into six groups: Sham-operated (SHAM), IR, Exercise (E), E+IR, Ischemic preconditioning (IPC), IPC+IR. Intestinal IR injury was induced in rats by clamping the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) for 45 minutes followed by 120 minutes of reperfusion. The IPC groups underwent a short-term IR prior to long-term IR. Animals in exercise groups were run on a treadmill for four weeks. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha levels were measured in serum samples and malondialdehyde levels and superoxide dismutase activities were measured in heart and lung tissues.

Results: 

Exercise training decreased serum concentrations of TNF-alpha compared with that of control rats (p<0.05), whereas IL-6 levels did not different among groups. In the IR group MDA levels increased in in lung tissue. MDA levels of the lung and heart tissues were lower in the E+IR and IPC+IR groups compared to the IR group (p<0.05). SOD activities of the lung and heart tissues were higher in IPC+IR group compared to the IR group (p<0.001).

Conclusions: 

Exercise preconditioning alleviates the severity of remote organ injury induced by intestinal IR in rats.