Antioxidant administration inhibits exercise-induced thymocyte apoptosis in rats

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of antioxidant on exercise-induced apoptosis in rat thymocytes. Methods: After exercise 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 feature of DNA fragmentation. To study the effect of antioxidant, rats were administered with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) for 7 d before exercise. Results: Exercise could induce thymocyte DNA fragmentation as detected on electrophoretic gel and by cell death detection ELISA kit. Further studies indicated that pretreatment with antioxidant BHA to rats resulted in a blockage of exercise-induced DNA fragmentation. The concentrations of glutathione (GSH) were not significantly changed in rat thymocytes after exercise with or without BHA treatment. Conclusion: These results suggest that reactive oxygen species may play a role in thymocyte apoptosis induced by exercise. However, changes in GSH levels were not observed in this exercise model.