The effect of moderate running wheel exercise on the learning and memory ability and hippocampal neurogenesis in young mice / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To observe the effect of moderate running wheel exercise on the learning and memory ability and hippocampal neurogenesis in young mice.Methods Twenty male 1 month old Kunming mice were randomly divided into control group and exercise group.After 8 weeks of running wheel exercise in the exercise group,the Morris water maze test was used to detect the spatial learning and memory ability of the two groups of mice.Immunohistochemical technique was used to detect the expression of Sox2,Ki67 and DCX in the dentate gyrus of mice in two groups,and those specific protein can reflected the hippocampal neurogenesis.Results In the place navigation test of Morris water maze,the latency of the exercise group ((29.00± 1.32) s) was lower than that of the control group ((36.30±0.69) s),and the difference was statistically significant (t=5.154,P＜0.05).In the spatial probe test,the number of times of crossing platforms in the exercise group ((3.73±1.51) times) was more than that of the control group ((1.89±t 1.63) times),and the difference was significant (t=3.583,P＜0.05).Immunohistochemical results showed that the number of Sox2,Ki67 and DCX immunoreactive cells in the dentate gyrus region of the exercise group were ((284.40± 31.50),(54.50± 10.75),(77.80=t± 11.60) respectively) more than those in the control group ((241.40± 10.57),(37.00± 7.81),(48.20±t 11.86) respectively),and the difference was statistically significant (t =4.129,5.789,7.971,all P＜0.01).Conclusion Moderate running wheel exercise can significantly improve the learning and memory ability of young mice,which may be related to the promotion of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus.

Voluntary exercise prior to traumatic brain injury alters miRNA expression in the injured mouse cerebral cortex

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may be important mediators of the profound molecular and cellular changes that occur after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the changes and possible roles of miRNAs induced by voluntary exercise prior to TBI are still not known. In this report, the microarray method was used to demonstrate alterations in miRNA expression levels in the cerebral cortex of TBI mice that were pretrained on a running wheel (RW). Voluntary RW exercise prior to TBI: i) significantly decreased the mortality rate and improved the recovery of the righting reflex in TBI mice, and ii) differentially changed the levels of several miRNAs, upregulating some and downregulating others. Furthermore, we revealed global upregulation of miR-21, miR-92a, and miR-874 and downregulation of miR-138, let-7c, and miR-124 expression among the sham-non-runner, TBI-non-runner, and TBI-runner groups. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction data (RT-qPCR) indicated good consistency with the microarray results. Our microarray-based analysis of miRNA expression in mice cerebral cortex after TBI revealed that some miRNAs such as miR-21, miR-92a, miR-874, miR-138, let-7c, and miR-124 could be involved in the prevention and protection afforded by voluntary exercise in a TBI model.

A forced running wheel system with a microcontroller that provides high-intensity exercise training in an animal ischemic stroke model

We developed a forced non-electric-shock running wheel (FNESRW) system that provides rats with high-intensity exercise training using automatic exercise training patterns that are controlled by a microcontroller. The proposed system successfully makes a breakthrough in the traditional motorized running wheel to allow rats to perform high-intensity training and to enable comparisons with the treadmill at the same exercise intensity without any electric shock. A polyvinyl chloride runway with a rough rubber surface was coated on the periphery of the wheel so as to permit automatic acceleration training, and which allowed the rats to run consistently at high speeds (30 m/min for 1 h). An animal ischemic stroke model was used to validate the proposed system. FNESRW, treadmill, control, and sham groups were studied. The FNESRW and treadmill groups underwent 3 weeks of endurance running training. After 3 weeks, the experiments of middle cerebral artery occlusion, the modified neurological severity score (mNSS), an inclined plane test, and triphenyltetrazolium chloride were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed platform. The proposed platform showed that enhancement of motor function, mNSS, and infarct volumes was significantly stronger in the FNESRW group than the control group (P<0.05) and similar to the treadmill group. The experimental data demonstrated that the proposed platform can be applied to test the benefit of exercise-preconditioning-induced neuroprotection using the animal stroke model. Additional advantages of the FNESRW system include stand-alone capability, independence of subjective human adjustment, and ease of use.

Effects of Exercise on Behavior and Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Apoptosis in a Rat Model of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

This study examined the effects of exercise on behavior and peripheral blood leukocyte apoptosis in a rat model of chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS).Thirty-six healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally randomized into 3 groups: the control group,CFS model group and the exercise group in terms of body weight.A total of 25 rats entered the final statistical analysis due to 11 deaths during the study.CFS model was established by subjecting the rats in CFS model group and exercise group to electric shock,chronic restraint stress and cold water swim.Besides,rats in the exercise group took running wheel exercise.After a week of conditioning feeding,model construction and running wheel exercise were performed simultaneously,and lasted for 23 consecutive days.The behavior experiments,including running wheel exercise,open-field test,tail suspension test and Morris water maze test,were conducted,either before or after the model establishment.Rats were sacrificed and peripheral blood was obtained for the assessment of lymphocyte apoptosis index by flow cytometry(FCM).It was found that as compared with those in the control group,the weight of the rats was decreased obviously(P<0.01),the mobility time in the open-field and the tail suspension tests was shortened significantly(P<0.01),the time to locate the platform was enhanced(P<0.01)and the cell apoptosis index was increased substantially(P<O.01)in the CSF model group.Meanwhile,in comparison to the model group,the behavior in the open-field and the tail suspension tests was improved significantly(P<0.05),and the apoptosis index decreased remarkably(P<0.01)in the exercise group.It is concluded that sport intervention can prevent lymphocyte apoptosis and improve animal behavior rather than the memory.