ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of voluntary exercise on the proliferation and differentiation of hypothalamus progenitor cells in adult rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male Wistar rats were divided into voluntary exercise (EX) and sedentary (SE) groups, both of which were further divided into 6 subgroups for observation on days 6, 13, 23, 33, 43 and 53. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was intraperitoneally injected daily for 5 consecutive days after commencing voluntary exercise, and at the specified time points during voluntary exercise, the rats' brains were removed to observe the numbers of BrdU-positive cells in the hypothalamus.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the numbers of BrdU-positive cells in the hypothalamus of EX subgroups were significantly greater than those of SE subgroups on days 23, 33, 43 and 53. In EX group, the number of BrdU-positive cells double-stained for a mature neuron marker increased after 43 days of voluntary exercise, which did not occur in SE group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Long-term voluntary exercise can promote the proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells in the hypothalamus and their differentiation into neurons.</p>