effect of resistance training with and without vitamin d calcium chitosan nanoparticle supplements on apoptosis markers in ovariectomized rats: an experimental study

Background: hormone therapy is one of the most effective treatments for menopausal disorders, but it may increase the risk of breast cancer, coronary heart disease, and pulmonary embolism. objective: the present study investigated the effect of resistance training with and without vitamin d calcium (ca++) chitosan nanoparticles on apoptosis markers in ovariectomized rats. materials and methods: 42 female wistar rats were divided into 7 groups (n = 6/each). one group was assigned as the healthy controls to show the induction of menopause. the other 6 groups comprised ovariectomized (ovx) animals including: 1) vitamin d + calcium + chitosan + resistance training, 2) saline + estrogen + resistance training, 3) saline + resistance training, 4) vitamin d + calcium + chitosan, 5) saline + estrogen, and 6) ovx + control. 48 hr after the last intervention, the hippocampus tissue was extracted to measure the bcl-2-associated x (bax), b-cell lymphoma 2 (bcl-2), and caspase-3 gene expression as well as the percentage of dead cells. results: ovx rats demonstrated increased bax gene expression, ratio of bax gene expression to bcl-2, caspase-3 gene expression, and percentage of dead cells of hippocampal tissue, but decreased bcl-2 gene expression. resistance training and vitamin d ca++ chitosan nanoparticle supplements seemed to reverse these changes. conclusion: the combination of resistance training and vitamin d ca++ chitosan nanoparticle supplements may be considered a non-pharmacological treatment for ovx-induced apoptosis.