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The Interaction of a High-Fat Diet and Regular Moderate Intensity Exercise on Intestinal Polyp Development in Apc^Min/+ Mice

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Division of Applied Physiology, Exercise Science Department, ² Department of Biological Sciences, and ³ Center for Colon Cancer Research, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina

Requests for reprints: James A. Carson, Department of Exercise Science, Public Health Research Center, University of South Carolina, 921 Assembly Street, Room 405, Columbia, SC 29208. Phone: 803-777-0809/803-777-0142; Fax: 803-777-8422; E-mail: carsonj{at}mailbox.sc.edu.

Diet and exercise are two environmental factors that can alter colon cancer risk. The purpose of this study was to determine if regular moderate-intensity treadmill exercise training could attenuate polyp formation in Apc^Min/+ mice fed the Western-style diet. Four-week-old male Apc^Min/+ mice (n = 12 per group) were assigned to AIN-76A Control, AIN-76A Exercise, Western Control, or Western Exercise treatment groups. Mice were weaned to these diets and either subjected to regular moderate-intensity treadmill exercise (18 m/min, 60 min/d, 6 d/wk) or remained sedentary for 6 weeks. Mice fed the Western-style diet consumed 14% more calories and had 42% more epididymal fat compared with mice fed the AIN-76A diet. Exercise had no effect on fat pad mass with either diet treatment. Exercise reduced total intestinal polyp number by 50% and the number of large polyps (>1 mm diameter) by 67% in AIN-76A–fed mice. The Western-style diet increased polyp number by 75% when compared with AIN-76A–fed mice, but exercise did not decrease polyp number or alter polyp size in mice fed the Western-style diet. Markers of systemic inflammation and immune system function were improved with exercise in mice fed the AIN-76A diet. Mice fed the Western-style diet showed more inflammation and immunosuppression, which were not completely ameliorated by exercise. These data suggest that the induction of adiposity, inflammation, and immunosuppression by the Western-style diet may compromise the beneficial effect of moderate-intensity exercise on the intestinal polyp burden in Apc^Min/+ mice.

Key Words: treadmill running • Western-style diet • colorectal cancer