Effect of Eight Weeks of Aerobic Exercise and Pomegranate Juice Consumption on miR-155, miR-21 and P53 in Men With Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Objective Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among men worldwide and in Iran. This study aims to assess the effect of eight weeks of aerobic training and consumption of pomegranate juice on some MicroRNAs and a tumor suppressor protein (P53) in men with prostate cancer. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2021 on 40 men with prostate cancer with a mean age of 61 years who were randomly divided into four groups (10 indivituals): control, exercise, exercise + supplementation, and supplementation. Exercise groups performed aerobic exercises for eight weeks, three sessions per week, each for 60-90 minutes with an intensity of 50-70% of maximum heart rate. Supplementation groups consumed 100 cc of pomegranate juice for 8 weeks, three times per week. Blood samples were taken from the participants 48 hours before and after the implementation of the exercise protocol. Dependent t-test and one-way ANOVA with the least significant difference post hoc test were used to analyze the data, considering a significance level of P≤0.05. Results Eight weeks of aerobic exercise combined with consumption of pomegranate juice caused a significant decrease in serum levels of miR-21 (P= 0.001) and miR-155 (P= 0.001) and a significant increase in P53 protein level in men with prostate cancer.. Conclusion Aerobic exercise and consumption of pomegranate juice simultaneously can reduce miR-21 and miR-155 levels and increase the P53 protein level in men with prostate cancer.