Endurance Exercise Intervention Is Beneficial to Kidney Function in a Rat Model of Isolated Abdominal Venous Congestion: a Pilot Study

In this study, the effects of moderate intense endurance exercise on heart and kidney function and morphology were studied in a thoracic inferior vena cava constricted (IVCc) rat model of abdominal venous congestion. After IVC surgical constriction, eight sedentary male Sprague-Dawley IVCc rats (IVCc-SED) were compared to eight IVCc rats subjected to moderate intense endurance exercise (IVCc-MOD). Heart and kidney function was examined and renal functional reserve (RFR) was investigated by administering a high protein diet (HPD). After 12 weeks of exercise training, abdominal venous pressure, indices of body fat content, plasma cystatin C levels, and post-HPD urinary KIM-1 levels were all significantly lower in IVCc-MOD versus IVCc-SED rats ( P < 0.05). RFR did not differ between both groups. The implementation of moderate intense endurance exercise in the IVCc model reduces abdominal venous pressure and is beneficial to kidney function.