Background and Aim: Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Recently, exercise training and stem cell therapy have emerged as novel strategies for improving cardiac function. This study aimed to investigate the effect of interval training following stem cell transplantation on cardiac morphological indices and plasma apelin in rats after induced MI.
Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats (7–8 weeks old) were randomly assigned into six groups (n=10): healthy control, MI control, sham, cell, training, and cell+training. MI was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending artery. Bone marrow-derived stem cells (10⁶ cells/rat) were isolated, counted, and injected via the tail vein. The interval training protocol lasted 6 weeks (3 sessions/week) including treadmill running at progressive speeds (14–24 m/min). Cardiac output and left ventricular end-diastolic volume were measured by echocardiography. Plasma apelin levels were assessed using ELISA kits. Data were analyzed by Shapiro–Wilk, ANOVA, and Tukey tests.
Results: Interval training combined with stem cell transplantation significantly improved cardiac output and reduced left ventricular end-diastolic volume compared with the MI control group (p<0.05). Plasma apelin levels were also significantly elevated in the training and cell+training groups compared to MI controls (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Interval training together with stem cell therapy exerts synergistic effects on cardiac performance and molecular markers related to myocardial repair, suggesting a potential complementary therapeutic approach for MI patients.