Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of vibration exercise on chemotherapy related-fatigue and its possible mechanism in rats.MethodsSixty female Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were randomly divided into a control and an experiment group.The rats in the experiment group received intraperitoneal injection of 2.5 mg/kg epirubicin hydrochloride at a cumulative does of 15 mg/kg to establish a model of chemotherapy-related fatigue,and then were randomly divided into a model group,and low- (15 Hz for 5 minutes),medium- (25 Hz for 15 minutes),and high-exercise group(35 Hz for 45 minutes)(10 rats in each group) and the vibration exercise was administrated to the rats 6 times a week for 4 weeks.Before the last exercise,the immobility time of tail suspension test(TST)were carried out to evaluate the status of fatigue.After the last exercise,all rats were sacrificed immediately,and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to detect serum levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β),tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α) and interleukin-6(IL-6).ResultsThe immobility time of TST(197.40±23.74 seconds) and the serum level of IL-1β(748.17±34.71 pg/mL)and TNFα(66.46±0.98 pg/mL)in model group were higher than those in the control group(all P<0.01).The immobility time of TST(167.90±28.12 seconds) in medium-exercise group was lower than that in the model group(P<0.05).The serum level of IL-1β(561.72±48.16 pg/mL and 64.60±0.65 pg/mL)and TNFα(567.17±27.50 pg/mL and 64.54±0.55 pg/mL)of the rats in medium- and high-exercise groups were lower than those in the model group(both P<0.01).The serum level of IL-6(89.07±3.22 pg/mL,118.40±5.10 pg/mL,and 130.69±3.87 pg/mL)of the rats in low-,medium-,and high-exercise groups were higher than that in the model group(all P<0.05).ConclusionVibration exercise can reduce chemotherapy-related fatigue in female rats and the mechanism may associate with the down-regulation of inflammatory cytokines and up-regulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines.