Preischemic treadmill exercise improves short-term memory by inhibiting hypoperfusion-induced disruption of blood-brain barrier after bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion

• Published in: Journal of exercise rehabilitation 2019, 15(3), 61, pp.370-376
• Main Authors: Lee, Jae-Min, Baek, Seung-Soo, Kim, Tae-Woon, Park, Hye-Sang, Park, Sang-Seo, Park, Jong-Min, Kim, Youn-Jung, Lee, Hyun-Seob, Shin, Mal-Soon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original; 심리과학
• ISSN: 2288-176X; 2288-1778
• DOI: 10.12965/jer.1938274.137

Bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion (BCCAO) causes an abrupt reduction of cerebral blood flow, and this method has been used to in-vestigate the effects of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion on vascular de-mentia and neuronal injuries. Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion leads to functional changes in the hippocampus and then results in a cognitive impairment. We investigated the effect of preischemic treadmill exer-cise on short-term memory and blood-brain barrier integration following cerebral hypoperfusion caused by BCCAO. The rats in the preischemic treadmill exercise and BCCAO group were made to run on a treadmill for 30 min once a day for 4 weeks. At 4 weeks after performing treadmill exercise, right carotid artery was ligated, and 1 week after, left common carotid artery was ligated. At 20 days after BCCAO, short-term memory was evaluated. Half of the rats were sacrificed 2 days after BCCAO and the other rats were sacrificed at 3 weeks after BCCAO. Immunohisto-chemistry and western blot were performed. Preischemic treadmill ex-ercise alleviated impairment of short-term memory in the step-down avoidance task. Preischemic treadmill exercise reduced microvascular injury in the hippocampus. Preischemic treadmill exercise prevented the reduction of zonula occludens-1 in the hippocampus and inhibited the activation of matrix metalloproteinase-9. Therefore, pre-condition-ing treadmill exercise might be used as a therapeutic strategy for the prevention of stroke in patients.