Establishment of a Rat Model of Exercise-Induced Fatigue

Objective To study the influence of exercise-induced fatigue on rat physical and biochemical indexes.Method Twenty rats were randomly divided into two groups: the control and model groups.The model group was given treadmill exercise according to the scheme.Related indexes were detected after training.The serum content of MDA,SOD activity of erythrocytes,content of MDA in liver and skeletal muscle,SOD activity of liver and skeletal muscle,free calmodulin in mitochondria of skeletal muscle cells,mitochondrial membrane potential,and hypothalamic neurotransmitters were measured.Myocardial specimens were taken for electron microscopic examination.Result Compared with the control group,the exercise-induced fatigue rats' contents of MDA in serum,liver and skeletal muscles increased significantly,the SOD activity of skeletal muscle and erythrocytes markedly decreased,mitochondrial membrane potential markedly decreased,content of GABA and 5-HT in hypothalamus increased significantly,and the contents of DA and ACh in hypothalamus decreased significantly.The electron microscopic observation revealed that the skeletal muscle utrastructure was changed,among others,the changes of mitochondria were most noticeble.Conclusion A rat model of exercise-induced fatigue can be well established by two weeks treadmill training.This rat model shows apparent mitochondrial damages supporting the skeletal muscle injury induced by fatigue.