Effect of Treadmill Exercise on Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 in Rats with Traumatic Brain Injury / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

Objective To determine the effect of treadmill exercise on expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in rats follow-ing traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods Fifty-five male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to sham (n=15), control (n=20) and exercise (n=20) groups, the later two groups subjected to unilateral cortical contusion injury (CCI). All the rats were assessed with foot-fault test 6, 12, 18 and 24 days after CCI. Evans blue perfusion was used to evaluate the integrity of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) 48 hours after CCI. Protein expression of MMP-2 was determined with Western blotting one week after CCI. Results The score of foot-fault test improved more in the exercise group than in the control group 12, 18 and 24 days after CCI (F>4.793, P<0.05). Evans blue extravasa-tion was less in the exercise group than in the control group (t=-8.091, P<0.001), as well as the expression of MMP-2 (t=-13.12, P<0.001). Conclusion Early treadmill exercise can improve the motor function in rats with TBI, which may associate with inhibition of MMP-2 ex-pression to protect BBB integrity.