Effects of Voluntary Endurance Training on Skeletal Muscle Function During and Following Doxorubicin Treatment

Abstract

Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline antiobiotic, has been shown to decrease skeletal muscle function via underlying mechanisms associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species. Prior studies have shown that exercise preconditioning attenuates the myotoxic effects of DOX, but at this point, the effects of exercise during and followingDOX treatment on skeletal muscle function is unknown. The purpose of the present study, therefore, was to investigate the effects of exercise performed during and following DOX treatment on myotoxicity. Male rats were randomly assigned to the exercise (voluntary running wheels) or sedentary (normal cages) condition for 10 weeks. Animals received weekly DOX or saline injections for the first six weeks. Grip strength was measured at baseline and weekly throughout the experimental period. Sedentary animals receiving DOX had overall decreased grip strength. This overall decrease was not observed in exercise DOX animals. These results suggest that exercise during and following DOX treatment effectively mitigates adverse effects of DOX on skeletal muscle force production.