Exercise-induced apoptosis of rat skeletal muscle and the effect of meloxicam

• Published in: Rheumatology international 2002, Vol.21 (4), p.133-136
• Main Authors: ARSLAN, Sule, ERDEM, Sevim, SIVRI, Aysen, HASCELIK, Zafer, TAN, Ersin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - pharmacology; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Culture Techniques; Disease Models, Animal; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Male; Muscle, Skeletal - drug effects; Muscle, Skeletal - pathology; Physical Conditioning, Animal - adverse effects; Probability; Random Allocation; Ratios; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reference Values; Rodents; Sensitivity and Specificity; Skeleton and joints; Statistics, Nonparametric; Thiazines - pharmacology; Thiazoles - pharmacology; Vertebrates: osteoarticular system, musculoskeletal system
• ISSN: 0172-8172; 1437-160X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00296-001-0156-9

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of exercise on apoptosis in rat gastrocnemius and soleus muscle tissue and to determine the effect of meloxicam, a novel non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), on the ratio of exercise-induced apoptosis. Forty male Wistar rats were used in the experiments. Spontaneous wheel-running was used as an exercise protocol. Rats were divided randomly into four groups. Group A (n = 10) was the control group, in which rats did not perform any exercise. In group B (n = 10), gastrocnemius and soleus muscles were biopsied immediately after exercise. The rats in group C (n = 10) were placed back in their cages after exercise and allowed to rest for 48 h, after which the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles were biopsied. In group D (n = 10), rats were given 11 mg meloxicam (Mobic, Boehringer Ingelheim) per kilogram body weight per day p.o. for 2 days, after which gastrocnemius and soleus muscles were biopsied 48 h after exercise. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP)-biotin nick end labelling (TUNEL) technique was used to detect DNA fragmentation in situ. TUNEL-positive nuclei were identified and counted. The apoptosis ratio in gastrocnemius muscle was 0.50x10(-3)+/-0.96x10(-3) in group A, 5.42x10(-3)+/-3.58x10(-3) in group B, 3.55x10(-3)+/-3.23x10(-3) in Group C and 3.52x10(-3)+/-1.00 in Group D; the ratios in soleus muscle were 0.98x10(-3)+/-1.83x10(-3), 3.03x10(-3)+/-2.78x10(-3), 4.48x10(-3)+/-3.32x10(-3) and 2.91x10(-3) 1.98x10(-3), respectively. The differences between the apoptosis ratios in group A and B, Group A and C, and Group A and D were statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between group C and D. In conclusion, exercise increased apoptosis in gastrocnemius and soleus muscle tissue, and the apoptosis ratios were not affected by meloxicam.