A comparison of the metabolic effects of treadmill and wheel running exercise in mouse model

Aerobic exercise is well known to have a positive impact on body composition, muscle strength, and oxidative capacity. In animal model, both treadmill and wheel running exercise modalities have become more popular, in order to study physiological adaptation associated with aerobic exercise. However, few studies have compared physiological adaptations in response to either treadmill exercise (TE), or voluntary wheel running exercise (WE). We therefore compared each exercise intervention on body composition and oxidative markers in male C57BL/6 N mice. The total distance run was remarkably higher in the WE group than in the TE group. Both forms of exercise resulted in the reduction of body weight, fat mass, and adipocyte size. However, the average for grip strength of WE was higher than for control and TE. Interestingly, PGC-1α expression was increased in the gastrocnemius (glycolytic-oxidative) and soleus (oxidative) muscle of TE group, whereas WE showed a significant effect on PGC-1α expression only in the soleus muscle. However, muscle fiber type composition was not shifted remarkably in either type of exercise. These results suggest that TE and WE may exert beneficial effects in suppressing metabolic risks in mouse model through attenuating body weight, fat mass, size, and increase in mitochondria biogenesis marker, PGC-1α.