Rios, Jaqueline LourdesBomhof, Marc R.Reimer, Raylene A.Hart, David A.Collins, Kelsey H.Herzog, Walter2019-03-182019-03-182019-03-07Rios, J. L., Bomhof, M. R., Reimer, R. A., Hart, D. A., Collins, K. H., & Herzog, W. (2019). Protective effect of prebiotic and exercise intervention on knee health in a rat model of diet-induced obesity. "Scientific Reports" 9:3893. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40601-xhttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/110084https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/43930Obesity, and associated metabolic syndrome, have been identified as primary risk factors for the development of knee osteoarthritis (OA), representing nearly 60% of the OA patient population. In this study, we sought to determine the effects of prebiotic fibre supplementation, aerobic exercise, and the combination of the two interventions, on the development of metabolic knee osteoarthritis in a high-fat/high-sucrose (HFS) diet-induced rat model of obesity. Twelve-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into five groups: a non-exercising control group fed a standard chow diet, a non-exercising group fed a HFS diet, a non-exercising group fed a HFS diet combined with prebiotic fibre supplement, an exercise group fed a HFS diet, and an exercise group fed a HFS diet combined with prebiotic fibre supplement. Outcome measures included knee joint damage, percent body fat, insulin sensitivity, serum lipid profile, serum endotoxin, serum and synovial fluid cytokines and adipokines, and cecal microbiota. Prebiotic fibre supplementation, aerobic exercise, and the combination of the two interventions completely prevented knee joint damage that is otherwise observed in this rat model of obesity. Prevention of knee damage was associated with a normalization of insulin resistance, leptin levels, dyslipidemia, gut microbiota, and endotoxemia in the HFS-fed rats.enUnless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.unknownhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40601-x