Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation and involvement of the synovial membrane, causing joint damage and deformities. No effective drug treatment is available, and physical exercise has been utilized to alleviate the inflammatory processes. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different exercise training protocols on Zymosan-induced RA inflammatory markers in the right knee of Wistar rats. The rodents were subjected to aerobic, resisted, and combined physical training protocols with variations in the total training volume (50% or 100% of resistance and aerobic training volume) for 8 weeks. All physical training protocols reduced cachexia and systemic inflammatory processes. The histological results showed an increase in the inflammatory influx to the synovial tissue of the right knee in all physical training protocols. The rats that underwent combined physical training with reduced volume had a lower inflammatory influx compared to the other experimental groups. A reduction in the mRNA expression of inflammatory genes and an increase in anti-inflammatory gene expression were also observed. The physical training protocol associated with volume reduction attenuated systemic and synovial inflammation of the right knee, reducing the impact of Zymosan-induced RA in rats.
Keywords: inflammation; knee; physical training; rheumatoid arthritis; synovial membrane.
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.