Voluntary Exercise Improves Cardiac Function and Prevents Cardiac Remodeling in a Mouse Model of Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Despite the indubitable beneficial effect of exercise to prevent of cardiovascular diseases, there is still a lack of studies investigating the impact of exercise in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Here, we investigated the impact of voluntary exercise on cardiac function in a mouse model of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (αMHC-MerCreMer:Sf/Sf), induced by cardiac-specific inactivation of the Serum Response Factor. Seven days after tamoxifen injection, 20 αMHC-MerCreMer:Sf/Sf mice were assigned to sedentary ( = 8) and exercise ( = 12) groups.