The Aerobic Exercise-Induced Epigenetic Adaptations in Cardiomyocytes

We hypothesized that proper exercise will improve hemodynamics. This improvement will activate cardiomyocytes possibly through epigenetic adaptation, which can extend the exercise effects on cardiomyocytes and ultimately improve the survival rate of healthy people or cardiac patients. To confirm this assumption, we will complete the following goals year by year in the future. The first year: we will try to establish the methodology of culturing cardiomyocytes using healthy people's serum before and after acute exercise at different intensities, and to understand the acute physiological adaptation of cardiomyocytes to different exercise intensities; the second year: we will use the method developed in the first year to cultured human cardiomyocyte cell line with cardiac patients' sera before and after 36 times of HIIT. HIIT effects on myocardial cell behavior, strain echocardiographic image analysis, and cardiopulmonary exercise test will then be performed; the third year: serum from healthy people and heart disease patients before and after acute or long-term exercise, respectively, were used to treat cardiomyocytes for 24 hours. The prepared cells underwent proteomic and DNA methylation analysis to find out the protein changed by exercise and the associated epigenetic adaptation. The first year: twenty healthy male adults will be recruited in the first year. An amount of 25 mL of blood will be sampled before interventions and then perform a progressive cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) to determine the individual's peak exercise intensity (VO2peak). Subjects then receive a single exercise with VO2peak of 40%, 60%, or 80% for 30 minutes, three times in total. An amount 10 ml blood was sampled (different time points) before, after and two hours after exercise at different intensities. One exercise test and three different exercise intensity experiments are expected in eight weeks. After the end of the experiment, a progressive CPET will be performed again. Blood samples obtained before and after exercise will be analyzed for cell behavior, proteomics, and DNA methylation of cardiomyocytes; the second year: we are going to recruit forty cardiac patients. We will randomly assign participants based on a computer generated program to the medical care (maintaining current medication, recommended home exercise at 60% of VO2peak), or HIIT groups (maintaining the current medication, in-hospital program of 80% of VO2peak for 3 minutes and then 40% of VO2peak for 3 minutes with 5 times for a total of 30 minutes). In addition to the same examinations as in the first year, cardiac patients also undergo strain echocardiography before and after exercise; the third year: experiment is expected to carry out bioinformatic analysis of proteomics and DNA methylation obtained in the first two years.

Project ID:PC10907-1534
External Project ID:MOST109-2314-B182-026-MY3