Effects of Resistance, Endurance, and High-Intensity Interval Training on Myostatin, Follistatin, and IGF-1 Gene Expression in Skeletal Muscle of Aged Male Rats

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Physical Education, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran.

2 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22080/jaep.2025.29116.2223

Abstract

Objectives: Sarcopenia is a common age-related disorder characterized by a decline in muscle mass and strength. One of the contributing factors to the development of this condition is alterations in the expression of regulatory genes such as myostatin, follistatin, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the effects of three types of exercise training—resistance training, endurance training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the expression of myostatin, follistatin, and IGF-1 genes in the gastrocnemius muscle of aged male rat.
Methods: In this experimental study, forty 18-month-old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four equal groups: control, resistance training, endurance training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The training protocols were performed for eight weeks, five days per week. Forty-eight hours after the final training session, gastrocnemius muscle tissue was harvested, and gene expression levels were analyzed using the RT-PCR technique. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s post hoc test.
Results: The results showed that exercise training significantly reduced myostatin gene expression in the resistance training, endurance training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) groups compared with the control group (P ≤ 0.05). In addition, a significant increase in the expression of follistatin and IGF-1 genes was observed in all three training groups compared with the control group (P ≤ 0.05). Endurance training resulted in a significantly greater increase in follistatin expression compared with resistance training (P ≤ 0.05), whereas resistance and HIIT protocols induced a greater increase in IGF-1 expression than endurance training (P ≤ 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings indicate that different types of exercise training effectively modulate molecular pathways associated with muscle growth and regeneration in the skeletal muscle tissue of aged male rats. These results support physical exercise as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for the prevention or attenuation of sarcopenia and may provide a basis for the development of targeted exercise protocols in older adults.

Keywords

Journal of Applied Exercise Physiology
Volume 21, Issue 41
March 2025
Pages 15-25

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History

  • Receive Date: 28 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 27 August 2025
  • Accept Date: 03 September 2025

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