1. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the changes in superoxide dismutase (SOD) isoenzyme (Mn(2+)-SOD and Cu2+, Zn(2+)-SOD) activities, contents and mRNA expressions in rat skeletal muscle during endurance training and a single bout of exercise. 2. Thirty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into untrained (U) and trained (T) groups. The T group rats were treadmill-trained for 9 weeks. The activity, content and mRNA expression of Mn(2+)-SOD and Cu2+, Zn(2+)-SOD were determined in the soleus muscle of each rat. 3. Mn(2+)-SOD activity and content in the T group were significantly higher than in the U group, both at rest (22 and 21%, respectively) and after exercise (24 and 46%, respectively), while a single bout of exercise affected neither the activity nor content of Mn(2+)-SOD in either group. 4. The content of Cu2+,Zn(2+)-SOD in both groups was not different at rest and after exercise, although its activity at rest was significantly higher in the T group than in the U group (by 29%). 5. After exercise, the expression of Mn(2+)-SOD mRNA was markedly attenuated only in the U group (49%); the expression of Cu2+,Zn(2+)-SOD mRNA was not influenced by exercise. 6. Our results suggest that adequate endurance training increases both the activity and content of Mn(2+)-SOD and that untrained rats are rather susceptible to oxidative stress during physical exercise. It thus appears that Mn(2+)-SOD provides a reliable index of physical training. 7. The results obtained in the present study also suggest that muscle has the capacity of responding to training in such a manner as to reduce the potential harm arising from the accumulation of oxygen free radicals resulting from enhanced metabolic activity.

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We examined the effects of a 9-week exercise training (TR) in Wistar male rats, beginning at 4 weeks of age, on the density of endothelial cells (ECs) in epididymal white adipose tissue (WAT) and the mRNA expression of angiogenic factors in adipose tissue stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells. The number of ECs and mRNA expressions were assessed by lectin staining and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Compared with control (CR) rats, TR rats gained weight more slowly and had significantly lower final weight of WAT due to the reduction in the size and the number of adipocytes. TR significantly increased the number of ECs per square millimeter and per adipocyte (1.37- and 1.23-fold, respectively) in WAT. This is probably because the number of adipocytes is fewer while the number of ECs is constant in the WAT of TR rats, because the regression line of TR rats for adipocyte number-dependent EC number was shifted toward the left without significant differences in the slopes between groups. TR also induced the upregulation of mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf)-A and Vegf-receptor-2 in SVF cells, thereby retaining a constant number of ECs in the WAT.

The effects of Ca2+ on lipolysis and protein kinase activity in adipocytes from exercise-trained rats were investigated. Chronic exercise significantly increased lipolytic responses to norepinephrine and dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP). The inhibitory effects of N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalene sulfonamide (W-7), a calumodulin inhibitor, on norepinephrine- and dibutyryl cAMP-stimulated lipolysis were significantly greater in trained than in sedentary rats. Training did not alter cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity. However, the inhibitory effect of W-7 on cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity was much greater in trained than in sedentary rats. The basal intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was significantly higher in trained than in sedentary rats. The rapid and transient increases in [Ca2+]i due to adrenocorticotropic hormone and phenylephrine from basal levels were significantly lower in trained than in sedentary rats. However, the higher basal [Ca2+]i level in trained rats led to increases in sustained [Ca2+]i levels after stimulation. We concluded that in trained rats the regulation of protein kinase activity by cAMP depends to a greater degree on Ca(2+)-calmodulin complex than it does in sedentary rats and that training alters adipocyte intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, including [Ca2+]i responsiveness to hormones.