The Modifications of Longevity Regulating Pathway Resulting from Endurance Effort in Arabian Horses

Recent studies have shown a highly positive effect of physical exercise on the overall condition of the body. The observed changes occur at the cellular level – proliferation, oxidative respiration, ROS degradation, whole-organism homeostasis improvement and ageing inhibition. The longevity regulating pathway is a broad term encompassing all the biochemical actions that contribute to keeping the organism in good condition and prolonging life duration. The overall aim of the present study was to describe the correlation between intensive physical activity and the expression of genes involved in biochemical processes related to longevity. A group of n=10 Arabian horses taking part in an endurance ride for 120 km were included in the study. Blood samples from the horses were taken before and after the ride to perform comparative analyses of the transcriptome profiles. Using high-throughput NGS and bioinformatics tools, the group of 9 genes with the highest up- and downregulation fold change (FC) rates were identified: PTEN, IRS2, SESN2, CCND1, TBC1D1, FOXO1, KL, TP53, and SOD2. The results of this study could lead to the identification of a genetic marker for hot-blooded horse breeding.