Antioxidant administration inhibits exercise-induced thymocyte apoptosis in rats

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of antioxi dant on exercise-induced apoptosis in rat thymocytes. Methods: After exerci se at 13.8 m.min(-1) for 60-90 min . d(-1) on a motor-driven drum exerciser for 2 consecutive days, rat thymocyte apoptosis was monitored by the featu re of DNA fragmentation. To study the effect of antioxidant, rats were admi nistered with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) for 7 d before exercise. Resul ts: Exercise could induce thymocyte DNA fragmentation as detected on electr ophoretic gel and by cell death detection ELISA kit. Further studies indica ted that pretreatment with antioxidant BHA to rats resulted in a blockage o f exercise-induced DNA fragmentation. The concentrations of glutathione (GS H) were not significantly changed in rat thymocytes after exercise with or without BHA treatment. Conclusion: These results suggest that reactive oxyg en species may play a role in thymocyte apoptosis induced by exercise. Howe ver, changes in GSH levels were not observed in this exercise model.