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Background: One of the most important biological pathways involved in maintaining energy homeostasis is the AMPK PGC-1α pathway. Activation of this pathway through exercise can be important in regulating mitochondrial biogenesis processes and maintaining energy balance in diabetics. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of endurance exercise on the content of AMPK and PGC-1α proteins in the left ventricular heart tissue of male rats with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: In this experimental study, 12 two-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats with a mean weight of 270±20 g were selected. After diabetic induction with STZ and Nicotinamide, rats were randomly assigned to two groups, training diabetic and control diabetic (6 heads in group each). The training group performed 4 days a week for 8 weeks, including 30 minutes of endurance training with an intensity of about 50 to 70% of the maximum speed; While the control group did not have any training program. Also, rats did not receive any insulin treatment during the study period. The independent t-test was used in SPSS software version 21 to analyze the data.

Results: A significant increase was observed in the content of AMPK (P=0.002) and PGC-1α (P=0.0001) proteins in the endurance exercise group compared to control.
Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, endurance exercise was able to significantly increase the content of AMPK and PGC-1α proteins. Therefore, it is possible that an increasing these proteins can lead to energy production and increase mitochondrial biogenesis.