Effects of aerobic exercise on glucose and lipid metabolism,islet β cells and the NF-κB/IRS2 signaling pathway in obese rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus

LIU Yongfu; LIU Fei; HU Yuting

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-7386.2026.02.002

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on glucose and lipid metabolism,islet β cells and the nuclear factor-kappaB(NF-κB)/insulin receptor substrate 2(IRS2)signaling pathway in obese rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A total of 40 Sprague-Dawley(SD)male rats in the specific pathogen free(SPF)level were randomly divided into normal(NO)group,model(MO)group,metformin(ME)group and metformin+aerobic exercise(MA)group,with 10 rats in each group.The obese T2DM rat model was established in the MO,ME and MA groups by streptozocin+high-fat and high-sugar feeding,while the model was not established in the NO group.After the successful modeling,oral gavage of 250 mg/kg metformin was given to rats of the ME group,oral gavage of 250 mg/kg metformin plus aerobic exercise was given to rats of the MA group.The same volume of normal saline was given to rats of the NO and MO groups.Changes in the rat body weight were observed.After the experiment,glucose and lipid metabolism of rats was detected,and the apoptosis of islet β cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)method.Islet expressions of proteins involved in the NF-κB/IRS2 signaling pathway were detected by Western blotting.Results Compared with NO group,rats in the MO group had significantly higher body weight,fasting blood glucose,fasting insulin,insulin resistance index,total cholesterol(TC),triglycerides(TG),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),apoptosis of islet β cells and protein expression of NF-κB in islet tissue,but lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)and expression level of IRS2(all P<0.05).Body weight,fasting blood glucose,fasting insulin,insulin resistance index,TC,TG,LDL-C,apoptosis of islet β cells and protein expression of NF-κB in islet tissues of ME and MA groups were significantly lower,and HDL-C and expression level of IRS2 were significantly higher than those of MO group(all P<0.05),which were more pronounced in the MA group than the ME group(all P<0.05).Conclusion Aerobic exercise has a significant effect on obese rats with T2DM,which can significantly improve the glucose and lipid metabolism,and inhibit the apoptosis of pancreatic β cells by regulating the NF-κB/IRS2 signaling pathway.