Background: The physiological role of apelin, an adipokine secreted by adipose tissue , in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has been identified . The aim of this study was to determine t he correlation of plasma level s of apelin-13 with insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and plasma leptin of diabetic male rats after 8-week aerobic exercise .

  Materials and Methods: Peresent study was an experimental study with animal model. Twenty eight diabetic male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups: Non-diabetic (n=9), control diabetic (n=9) and trained diabetic (n=10). Type 2 diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of nicotinamide and streptozotocin. The trained diabetic rat ran 8-week on treadmill progressively. After the training period, plasma levels of glucose, insulin, leptin and apelin-13 were measured and HOMA-IR was calculated. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson’s correlation were used for analyzing data. p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

  Results: A significant decrease in plasma levels of glucose, insulin and leptin and HOMA-IR in trained diabetic vs control diabetic rats, a significant increase in plasma levels of apelin in trained diabetic vs non-diabetic and control diabetic rats and a significant negative correlation of plasma levels of apelin with HOMA-IR and plasma leptin in trained diabetic rats was observed.

  Conclusion: In present study, 8-week aerobic training by improvement of insulin sensitivity (decrease of HOMA-IR and plasma leptin) increased plasma levels of apelin-13 in diabetic male rats.