Neuroprotection associated with running: Is it a result of increased endogenous neurotrophic factors?

The possible neuroprotective effect of physical exercise was investigated in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), a focal stroke model. It was found that physical exercise in the form of a 12-week treadmill running programme reduced the volume of infarction caused by MCAO. At the mole...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience 2003-01, Vol.118 (2), p.335-345
Main Authors: ANG, E. T, WONG, P. T. H, MOOCHHALA, S, NG, Y. K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Infarction - metabolism
Choline O-Acetyltransferase - genetics
Choline O-Acetyltransferase - metabolism
Diagonal Band of Broca - metabolism
Disease Models, Animal
DNA Primers
Exercise Test
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene Expression Regulation
Immunohistochemistry
Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - metabolism
Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - physiopathology
Male
Nerve Growth Factor - genetics
Nerve Growth Factor - metabolism
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor
Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor - genetics
Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor - metabolism
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis
Running - physiology
Septum of Brain - metabolism
Stroke
Time Factors
Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports
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Summary:The possible neuroprotective effect of physical exercise was investigated in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), a focal stroke model. It was found that physical exercise in the form of a 12-week treadmill running programme reduced the volume of infarction caused by MCAO. At the molecular level, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that the runner had increased gene expression for nerve growth factor (NGF) over the nonrunner with or without MCAO. Expression of the NGF receptors, p75, was increased only in the absence of MCAO. In addition, runners showed a significantly higher number of cholinergic neurons, which constitutively expressed p75, in the horizontal diagonal band of Broca. The present findings suggest that neuroprotection after physical exercise may be a result of an increase in an endogenous neurotrophic factor nerve growth factor and the proliferation of its receptive cholinergic neurons.
ISSN:0306-4522
1873-7544
DOI:10.1016/S0306-4522(02)00989-2