Chronic Exercise Protects against the Progression of Renal Cyst Growth and Dysfunction in Rats with Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder characterized by the progressive enlargement of renal epithelial cysts and renal dysfunction. Previous studies have reported the beneficial effects of chronic exercise on chronic kidney disease. However, the effects of chronic exercise have not been fully examined in PKD patients or models. The effects of chronic exercise on the progression of PKD were investigated in a polycystic kidney (PCK) rat model. Six-week-old male PCK rats were divided into a sedentary group and an exercise group. The exercise group underwent forced treadmill exercise for 12 wk (28 m·min-1, 60 min·d-1, 5 d·wk-1). After 12 wk, renal function and histology were examined, and signaling cascades of PKD progression, including arginine vasopressin (AVP), were investigated. Chronic exercise reduced the excretion of urinary protein, liver-type fatty acid-binding protein, plasma creatinine, urea nitrogen, and increased plasma irisin and urinary AVP excretion. Chronic exercise also slowed renal cyst growth, glomerular damage, and interstitial fibrosis and led to reduced Ki-67 expression. Chronic exercise had no effect on cAMP content but decreased the renal expression of B-Raf and reduced the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and S6. Chronic exercise slows renal cyst growth and damage in PCK rats, despite increasing AVP, with the downregulation of the cAMP/B-Raf/ERK and mTOR/S6 pathways in the kidney of PCK rats.