Background & aim: The positive effects of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on reinforcement of healthy muscle tissue metabolism pathways have been long proven. One of the side effects of diabetes is the impairment of glucose metabolism and muscle fat. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of HIIT on Retinol Binding Protein 4 (RBP) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) gene expression in skeletal muscle of rats with type II diabetes.

Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats (age: 8 weeks, weighing 250 ± 20 g) were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 12): basal, healthy control, diabetes, HIIT, diabetes and exercise group. Before the starting of the training program, all groups except the basal group and control and exercise were injected with nicotinamide - streptozotocin (STZ) by peritoneal injection to induce diabetic model. The training rats were treated for 8 weeks, 5 days a week, with an intensity of 80 to 85% of maximum speed to HIIT exercises. 48 hours after the last training session, after anesthesia, soleus muscle was removed and mRNA RBP4 and mRNA AMPK were measured. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test (P <0.05).

Results: The induction of diabetes caused a significant increase in the mRNA RBP4 rate. While the reduction in this gene was significant in the diabetic exercise group and exercise group compared with the diabetic group (p=0.003). Performing a HIIT exercise significantly increased AMPK mRNA levels compared with the control group for diabetes (p=0.001). Also, the increase of this gene in the diabetic exercise group and exercise was significantly more than the diabetes group (p=0.002)

Conclusion: The results of the present study revealed that the use of HIIT exercise lessens the destructive effects of diabetes by increasing the key factor in muscle cellular metabolism of AMPK (stimulating the increase of GLUT transfer) and reducing RBP, it could be effective in improving insulin resistance of the muscle cell.

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