The effect of 12-week resistance exercise training on serum levels of cellular aging process parameters in elderly men

Background: Regular physical activity has a positive effect on the prevention of cellular aging. The present study investigated the effect of 12-week resistance training (RT) on serum levels of Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), Sirtuin-3 (SIRT3), Sirtuin-6 (SIRT6), Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1-alpha), and telomerase enzyme in elderly men. Methods: For this purpose, 30 elderly men (age 66.23 +/- 0.57 years) were randomly divided into two groups: resistance training group (RET, n = 15) and control group (CTR, n = 15). Participants in RET performed RT protocols with intensity of 60% one-repetition maximum (3x/week, 4 sets of the six exercise circuits). Body composition, physical functioning and, blood samples were assessed before (pre-test) and after (post-test) a 12-week intervention. Results: The results showed that there was a significant increase in serum levels of SIRT1 (P = 0.001), SIRT3 (P = 0.001), SIRT6 (P = 0.02), PGC1-alpha (P = 0.001), and telomerase enzyme (P = 0.001) in RET. Also, we found a significant difference between the RET and CTR in serum levels of SIRT1 (P = 0.001), SIRT3 (P = 0.001), SIRT6 (P = 0.037), PGC1-alpha (P = 0.007), and telomerase enzyme (P = 0.001). Conclusions: 12-Week RT increased the levels of proteins associated with the biological aging process in elderly men. It seems that the RT may have beneficial effects on cellular senescence and also improved impaired mitochondrial protein and enzymatic functional induced aging.