Abstract
The effect of a treadmill running program on the metabolism of cholesterol in liver was studied in male Wistar rats, aged 7 weeks and weighing about 200 g. Rats were exercised on 6 days a week for 8 weeks, running 1, 000 m a day at 15 m/min. The trained rats gave following evidence, as compared with the sedentary control animals:
1. Remarkable lower weight of body and liver
2. Significantly lower level of total and free cholesterol in liver
3. Elevated in vivo incorporation of14C-acetate and of14C-mevalonate into liver cholesterol
4. Enhanced incorporation of14C-mevalonate into cholesterol by liver slice
5. Increased activity of hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase in liver
6. Increase in cholesterol 7 a-hydroxylase activity in liver
The results indicate that the exercise promotes the turnover of cholesterol in liver.
