Abstract: Objective: the paper is to explore the effects of Aerobic-exercise(swimming) on CO(Carbon Monoxide) and cGMP(Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate)of the rat’s plasma during the development of atherosclerosis(AS) and to investigate the changes and correlations of CO and cGMP for looking for the possible mechanisms that CO works so as to provide a theoretical basis for Aerobic-exercise Preventing atherosclerosis development. Methods: 30 Sprague-Dawley healthy male rats are randomly divided into 3×10 groups for 8 weeks of experiment, the control group(CG), the atherosclerosis group(ASG) with high-fat diet and the Aerobic-exercise group(AEG) in which the rats swim 60min every day with high-fat diet. The contents of CO and cGMP of the plasma are measured after and before experiment. Results: The contents of CO and cGMP of the ASG are significantly increased(P＜0.05. The contents of CO and cGMP of the AEG are significantly lower than those in the ASG(P＜0.05. The changes of CO in the plasma are positively correlated with the changes of cGMP(r=0.84). Conclusion: the contents of CO and cGMP in plasma increase during the development of atherosclerosis. Aerobic-exercise may reduce the contents of CO and cGMP in plasma. CO-cGMP pattern may be one of the mechanisms that CO works.

Key words: atherosclerosis, aerobic exercise, CO, cGMP