Journal of Eexercise & Organ Cross Talk

The effects of aerobic training on cardiac SIRT3/FOXO3 expression and inflammatory status in obesity: An experimental study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Ahv.C., Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.

10.22122/jeoct.2026.592029.1219
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of aerobic exercise on cardiac SIRT3 and FOXO3 expression and inflammatory cytokines in rats with obesity induced by a high-fat, high-fructose diet. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were assigned to three groups: control, high-fat/high-fructose diet (HFFD), and HFFD plus aerobic exercise (HFFD+Ex). Obesity was induced by 8 weeks of HFFD, followed by a 6-week progressive moderate-intensity aerobic treadmill training program (10-18 m/min, 10-30 min/day, 5 days/week; approximately 42-75% of individual Vmax) in the exercise group. HFFD induced obesity, dyslipidemia, and significant reductions in cardiac SIRT3 and FOXO3 expression compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The exercised group showed significantly higher SIRT3 expression compared with the HFFD group, reaching levels comparable to controls, with a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 6.10). FOXO3 expression showed a 40% increase in the exercised group compared with the HFFD group, but this difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.795), potentially due to limited statistical power with the sample size employed (post-hoc power = 62%). The exercised group also exhibited significantly lower circulating TNF-α and IL-1β concentrations and higher IL-10 levels compared with the HFFD group, indicating a systemic anti-inflammatory effect. However, as these cytokines were measured in blood rather than cardiac tissue, they reflect systemic inflammation and may not directly represent cardiac-specific inflammatory changes. (P < 0.05). Although FOXO3 gene expression was not significantly altered, the findings support aerobic exercise as an effective non-pharmacological strategy to mitigate obesity-related cardiac dysfunction through modulation of mitochondrial and inflammatory pathways.

What is already known on this subject?

The global prevalence of obesity has reached pandemic proportions, with more than 650 million adults affected and rates continuing to rise in low- and middle-income countries.

 

What this study adds?

These findings suggest that aerobic exercise participation is associated with restored SIRT3 expression and reduced inflammation in the obese heart, though causal interpretation is limited by the post-test-only design.

Keywords

Subjects

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted as part of a Master's thesis (M.Sc.) of Mahshid Khalili, in Physical Education, Exercise Physiology, at the Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch. 

Funding

None

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript. No financial or personal relationships have influenced the design, execution, or reporting of this research. All authors have reviewed  and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission to the journal. 

Ethical approval The research received ethical approval under the code IR.IAU.AHVAZ.REC.1402.075.

Informed consent Animal study.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Methodology: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Software: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Validation M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Formal analysis: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Investigation: M.Kh., M.Sh.; Resources: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Data curation: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Writing -original draft: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Writing–review & editing: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Visualization: M.Kh., M.Sh.,; Supervision: M.Sh.; Project administration: M.Kh., M.Sh.; Funding acquisition: M.Kh., M.Sh.

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Volume 6, Issue 4
Autumn 2026
Pages 247-257

  • Receive Date 15 July 2026
  • Revise Date 18 September 2026
  • Accept Date 26 September 2026