Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 11;17(1):79.
doi: 10.1186/s13102-025-01125-2.

Aerobic training and vitamin D supplementation effects on diabetes-related parameters in a rat model of type 2 diabetes

Zahra Hoseini  1 , Nasser Behpour  2 , Rastegar Hoseini  1
Affiliations

Aerobic training and vitamin D supplementation effects on diabetes-related parameters in a rat model of type 2 diabetes

Zahra Hoseini et al. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. .

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by disturbances in glucose, lipid, and energy metabolism, including dyslipidemia and dysregulation of metabolic peptides like spexin; however, the effects of combined interventions, such as aerobic training and nutritional intervention, on these parameters are not fully elucidated. The objective of this study was to investigate the influences of aerobic training (AT) and vitamin D (Vit D) supplementation on the lipid profile and spexin levels in a model of rats with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: A total of 56 male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: SHAM (non-diabetic control; n = 8) and diabetic (n = 48). The diabetic rats were further divided into six groups: AT with high doses of vitamin D (D + AT + HD; 10,000 IU/kg/week), AT with moderate doses of vitamin D (D + AT + MD; 5,000 IU/kg/week), high doses of vitamin D (D + HD; 10,000 IU/kg/week), moderate doses of vitamin D (D + MD; 5,000 IU/kg/week), AT receiving vehicle (sesame oil; D + AT + oil), and control (oil-receiving; D + C). To induce type 2 diabetes, rats were first fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 2 weeks to induce obesity, followed by an intraperitoneal injection of 110 mg/kg nicotinamide and 55 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) dissolved in 0.1 M citrate buffer (pH 4.5). Blood samples were collected 48 h after the last training session under anesthesia for measuring spexin levels, and lipid profile parameters. Statistical analyses were performed using the paired t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey post hoc test.

Results: Compared to the SHAM rats, there were significant increases in body weight, BMI, FI, and WC in the diabetic rats (p < 0.001). Also, there was a significant decrease in body weight, BMI, FI, and WC of the diabetic groups who received interventions, especially in D + AT + HD (body weight: -11.07%, BMI: -10.25%, FI: -19.16%, WC: -16.54%). The lipid profiles were significantly improved, with the lowest total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and the highest high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels being found in the D + AT + HD group compared with the D + C group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the D + AT + HD group had elevated spexin levels compared with the other diabetic groups, which may play a metabolic role.

Conclusion: AT and Vit D supplementation effectively normalized serum lipids and increased spexin levels in T2D rats. These findings suggest that AT and Vit D supplementation may serve as potential therapeutic strategies for managing T2D and its associated complications. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and to evaluate the long-term effects of these interventions in humans.

Keywords: Exercise; HOMA-IR; Metabolic disorder; Vitamin D.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All actions performed on the animals followed the Helsinki Guidelines and the guidelines of the Ethics Committee of the Razi University of Kermanshah (IR.RAZI.REC.1401.065 on 21/12/2022). The protocol followed the ARRIVE guidelines and the National Institutes of Health guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison changes of mean ± SD of body weight, BMI, FI and WC between groups BMI: Body Mass Index; FI: Food Intake; WC: Waist Circumference; The mean values followed by different letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) mean significantly different at the 0.05 level (p<0.05). The values followed by the same letter are not significantly different. Dissimilar letters represent a significant difference between the groups
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison between mean ± SD of lipid profiles between groups D + AT + HD: Diabetic + Aerobic Training + High Dose of Vitamin D; D + AT + MD: Diabetic + Aerobic Training + Moderate Dose of Vitamin D; HD: Diabetic + High Dose of Vitamin D; MD: Diabetic + Moderate Dose of Vitamin D; D + AT + oil: Diabetic + Aerobic Training + Sesame Oil; D + C: Diabetic + Sesame Oil; SHAM: Non-Diabetic Control Values were calculated using a One-Way analysis of variance followed by post hoc Tukey’s test. The mean values followed by different letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) mean significantly different at the 0.05 level (p < 0.05). The values followed by the same letter are not significantly different. Dissimilar letters represent a significant difference between the groups
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Comparison between mean ± SD of spexin between groups D + AT + HD: Diabetic + Aerobic Training + High Dose of Vitamin D; D + AT + MD: Diabetic + Aerobic Training + Moderate Dose of Vitamin D; HD: Diabetic + High Dose of Vitamin D; MD: Diabetic + Moderate Dose of Vitamin D; D + AT + oil: Diabetic + Aerobic Training + Sesame Oil; D + C: Diabetic + Sesame Oil; SHAM: Non-Diabetic Control Values were calculated using a One-Way analysis of variance followed by post hoc Tukey’s test. The mean values followed by different letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) mean significantly different at the 0.05 level (p < 0.05). The values followed by the same letter are not significantly different. Dissimilar letters represent a significant difference between the groups
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Arnold SV, Khunti K, Tang F, Chen H, Cid-Ruzafa J, Cooper A, Fenici P, Gomes MB, Hammar N, Ji L. Incidence rates and predictors of microvascular and macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes: results from the longitudinal global discover study. Am Heart J. 2022;243:232–9. - PubMed
    1. Coles B, Zaccardi F, Hvid C, Davies MJ, Khunti K. Cardiovascular events and mortality in people with type 2 diabetes and Multimorbidity: A real-world study of patients followed for up to 19 years. Diabetes Obes Metabolism. 2021;23(1):218–27. - PubMed
    1. Hrubeniuk TJ, Bouchard DR, Goulet ED, Gurd B, Sénéchal M. The ability of exercise to meaningfully improve glucose tolerance in people living with prediabetes: A meta-analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2020;30(2):209–16. - PubMed
    1. Hoseini Z, Behpour N, Hoseini R. Vitamin D improves the antidiabetic effectiveness of aerobic training via modulation of Akt, PEPCK, and G6Pase expression. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2023;15(1):1–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Darmian MA, Hoseini R, Amiri E, Golshani S. Downregulated hs-CRP and MAD, upregulated GSH and TAC, and improved metabolic status following combined exercise and turmeric supplementation: a clinical trial in middle-aged women with hyperlipidemic type 2 diabetes. J Diabetes Metabolic Disorders. 2022;21(1):275–83. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources