Exercise Training Protocols in Rabbits Applied in Cardiovascular Research.

Autores de INCLIVA

• Germán Parra Giraldo

  Autor

• 

  Óscar Julián Arias Mutis

  Autor

• 

  Manuel Zarzoso Muñoz

  Autor

Participantes ajenos a INCLIVA

• Lozano, Wilson M

Grupos y Plataformas de I+D+i

• Grupo de Investigación en Electrofisiología cardiaca experimental

  

  Leading Researcher

  Antonio M. Alberola Aguilar

Abstract

Rabbit exercise protocols allow for the evaluation of physiological and biomechanical changes and responses to episodes of acute or chronic exercise. The observed physiological changes are normal responses to stress, that is, adaptive responses to maintain or restore homeostasis after acute exercise. Indeed, the rabbit model is advantageous since (a) it has important physiological similarities in terms of the functioning of multiple organ systems, and can quickly induce alterations in pathophysiological conditions that resemble those of humans, and (b) it allows the implementation of a low-cost model in comparison with other large animals. When designing an exercise training protocol for rabbits, it is important to consider variables such as race, gender, age and, especially, training parameters such as volume, intensity, or rest, among others, to determine the outcome of the research. Therefore, the objective of this review is to identify and analyze exercise training protocols in rabbits in different experimental applications and the various physiological adaptations that are presented, with special focus in cardiovascular adaptations.

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Keywords

• exercise training; exercise protocols; rabbit; cardiovascular system