Impact of chronic stress and exercise on inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, and apoptotic genes in rats fed high fat diet.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of combination of exposure to chronic stress and high fat diet on the inflammatory and oxidant stress milieu together with the effect on expression of p53, BcL-2 in adipose tissue and vascular tissue. Methods: Forty male Sprague-Dawely rats were divided equally into 5 groups: (ND) fed normal chow diet, (ND-S) fed normal chow & exposed to different stressors for 12 weeks, (HFD) fed high fat diet, (HFD-S) fed high fat diet & exposed to stress and (HFD-S-E) fed high fat diet with exposure to stress and had swimming exercise sessions. Results: Serum lipid profile was significantly disturbed in HFD-S rats but only Fasting blood glucose and total serum cholesterol were elevated in stressed chow fed rats. Serum insulin, cholesterol, TGs level decreased in HFD-S-E group compared to HFD-S rats. Oxidative markers were elevated in HFD & HFD-S groups compared to ND group. Adipose tissue mRNA level of MCP-1 & p53 genes was increased in both ND-S and in HFD-S while its mRNA levels of BcL-2 gene was significantly reduced in HFD-S rats than in HFD group. BcL-2 mRNA was increased in HFD-S-E rats vs. HFD-S group. Sections from visceral adipose tissue and heart from HDF-S rats showed some degenerative changes and inflammatory cell infiltration. p53 Immunostaining was positive in adipose and heart tissue from stressed groups. Conclusion: High fat diet feeding is associated with low grade inflammatory state, insulin resistance, enhanced oxidative stress and disturbed balance between proapoptotoic and antiapoptotic genes. Chronic stress per se seems to have its deleterious effect. However, combination of HFD & stress may potentiate the hazardous effect of each other. Moreover exercise alone may not be sufficient to reverse HFD-S induced hazardous effects.