The Effects of HIIT and Curcumin Supplementation on CD31+ Capillary Cell Count and the Expression of VEGF and MMP9 of Left Ventricle in Isoproterenol Induced Myocardial Infraction Model Rats

The effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and curcumin supplementation on CD31+ capillary cell count and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) in left ventricle (LV) of male rats in the model of myocardial infraction were determined in this study. 40 male rats were divided into four groups: HIIT, curcumin, concomitant (HIIT+CUR) and control following isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction. Curcumin was administered through oral gavage as 15 mg/kgbw/day. HIIT was performed for 8 weeks, 5 sessions a week and included 60 minutes of interval running (4 min. of running with the intensity of 85-90% of VO2max and 2 min. of active recovery with the intensity of 50-60%). The results showed that HIIT in both HIIT and concomitant groups significantly increased LV VEGF protein expression (P=0.001) while no effect was noted for curcumin (P>0.05). Only curcumin significantly reduced (P=0.001) LV MMP9 protein expression (in both curcumin and concomitant groups). All three interventions significantly increased LV CD31+ capillary cell count (P=0.001). A significantly greater effect was noted for HIIT than curcumin (P=0.001) and for concomitant than both HIIT and curcumin (P=0.001). The results showed that all three interventions including curcumin, HIIT and concomitant were involved in capillary proliferation following infraction; however, curcumin induced capillary growth seems to occur through paths independent of VEGF as well. But the exact function of MMP9 down-regulation induced by curcumin is still unclear and more research is required because of the study limitations.