Juvenile physical activity protects against isoproterenol-induced cardiac dysfunction later in life

Cardiovascular disease is an enormous public health problem, particularly in older populations. Exercise is the most potent cardioprotective intervention identified to date, with exercise in the juvenile period potentially imparting greater protection given the plasticity of the developing heart. To test the hypothesis that voluntary wheel running early in life would be cardioprotective later in life when risk for disease is high, we provided male and female juvenile (3-week old) mice access to a running wheel for two weeks. Mice then returned to a home cage to age to adulthood (4-6 months) before exposure to isoproterenol (ISO) to induce cardiac stress. Cardiac function and remodeling were compared to sedentary control mice, sedentary mice exposed to ISO, and mice that exercised in adulthood immediately before ISO. Early in life activity protected against ISO-induced stress as evidenced by attenuated cardiac mass, myocyte size, and fibrosis compared to sedentary ISO. ISO-induced changes in cardiac function were ameliorated in male mice that engaged in wheel running, with ejection fraction and fractional shortening reversed to control values. Adrenergic receptor expression was downregulated in juvenile male runners. This suppression persisted in adulthood following ISO, providing a putative mechanism by which exercise in the young male heart provides resilience to cardiac stress later in life. Together, we show that activity early in life induces persistent cardiac changes that attenuate ISO-induced stress in adulthood. Identification of the mechanisms by which early in life exercise is protective will yield valuable insight into how exercise is medicine across the life-course.