Background: This study aimed to investigate the modulating effects of two interventions, glycyrrhizin and swimming exercise, on the expression of CXCR4 and CXCL12 genes in the blood and heart tissue of diabetic rat models.
Methods: A total of 55 male Wistar rats were purchased, of which 44 were subcutaneously injected with streptozotocin between the ears. Four days post-injection, blood glucose levels were assessed. Rats exhibiting levels above 250 mg/dL were classified as diabetic and subsequently randomized into four groups of 11 animals each (diabetic control, diabetic + glycyrrhizin, diabetic + swimming training, and diabetic + swimming training + glycyrrhizin). The healthy control group consisted of 11 rats. Two groups of diabetic rats were treated with glycyrrhizin. The core experimental protocol involved swimming training, which was implemented in two of the experimental groups. Glycyrrhizin was dissolved in 0.9% saline with sterile distilled water and administered by gavage at a dose of 120 mg/kg on average, transferred to the stomach of the animals every night. The main experimental protocol consisted of eight weeks of swimming training, which was performed in two experimental groups. The swimming training time started from 25 minutes with 7 liters of water in the adaptation period and increased to 60 minutes of activity in 17 liters of water in the eighth week. After eight weeks, the rats were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine before blood collection, and then blood samples were taken from their hearts. Data analysis was performed using two-way analysis of variance and Tukey's test.
Results: A marked reduction in the expression levels of CXCR4 and CXCL12 was observed in the groups subjected to exercise and glycyrrhizin supplementation, indicating the potential of these interventions in modulating inflammatory signaling pathways (p<0.05). The greatest reduction in CXCR4 (49.77%) and CXCL12 (68.19%) was observed in the combined exercise + glycyrrhizin group, indicating a stronger effect of the combined therapy than the single treatments.
Conclusion: Swimming training combined with glycyrrhizin supplementation significantly downregulated the expression of CXCR4 and CXCL12 genes and demonstrated potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, contributing effectively to the modulation and prevention of diabetes.
