Endurance Exercise Test
Objective: Assess ability to sustain long-lasting exercise by measuring running capacity and endurance at 70% of VO2max in mice
Gather these items before starting the experiment. Check off items as you prepare.
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Protocol Steps
Measure spontaneous locomotor activity
Place Rev-erb-α−/− mice and wild-type littermates in free wheel exercise apparatus and measure spontaneous locomotor activity
Note: Baseline assessment of exercise behavior
View evidence from paper
“Rev-erb-α−deficient (Rev-erb-α−/−) mice exhibited markedly reduced spontaneous locomotor activity in a free wheel exercise compared to wild-type littermates”
Determine VO2max via progressive treadmill exercise
Submit Rev-erb-α−/− mice and wild-type littermates to forced, progressive treadmill exercise to measure basal oxygen consumption (VO2b) at rest and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) at exhaustion
Note: VO2b measured at rest; VO2max measured at exhaustion. Results used to establish individual 70% VO2max threshold for endurance test
View evidence from paper
“We next assessed basal (VO2b) and maximal (VO2max) oxygen consumption, reflecting aerobic capacity, by submitting Rev-erb-α−/− mice to a forced, progressive treadmill exercise.”
Perform standard endurance exercise test
Place mice on treadmill and have them run at 70% of their respective VO2max. Monitor running time and distance until mice stop running or reach endpoint
Note: Test assesses ability to sustain long-lasting exercise. Endpoint is when mouse stops running
View evidence from paper
“In a standard endurance exercise test performed at 70% of their respective VO2max, 50% of Rev-erb-α−/− mice, compared to only 20% of the wild-type mice, stopped running within 50 min indicative of their inability to sustain a long-lasting exercise”
Record running time and distance
Document total running time and total distance covered during endurance exercise test for each mouse
Note: Primary outcome measures for endurance capacity
View evidence from paper
“In this setting, Rev-erb-α−/− mice ran for a significantly shorter time and distance than their wild-type littermates”