A method to study the impact of chemically-induced ovarian failure on exercise capacity and cardiac adaptation in mice

The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases in post-menopausal women, yet, the role of exercise, as a preventative measure for CVD risk in post-menopausal women has not been adequately studied. Accordingly, we investigated the impact of voluntary cage-wheel exercise and forced treadmill exercise on cardiac adaptation in menopausal mice. The most commonly used inducible model for mimicking menopause in women is the ovariectomized (OVX) rodent. However, the OVX model has a few dissimilarities from menopause in humans. In this study, we administered 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) to female mice, which accelerates ovarian failure as an alternative menopause model to study the impact of exercise in menopausal mice. VCD selectively accelerates the loss of primary and primordial follicles resulting in an endocrine state that closely mimics the natural progression from pre- to peri- to post-menopause in humans. To determine the impact of exercise on exercise capacity and cardiac adaptation in VCD-treated female mice, two methods were used. First, we exposed a group of VCD-treated and untreated mice to a voluntary cage wheel. Second, we used forced treadmill exercise to determine exercise capacity in a separate group VCD-treated and untreated mice measured as a tolerance to exercise intensity and endurance.