The effects of voluntary complex and regular wheel running exercises on the levels of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase, semaphorin 3B, H2O2, and apoptosis in the hippocampus of diabetic rats.

PURPOSE: One of the most frequent complications associated with diabetes mellitus is apoptosis within the brain which can lead to cognitive disorders. Exercise is considered the best non-pharmacological approach to reduce the severity and extent of cell death through poorly-understood mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of voluntary complex and regular wheel running on the levels of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1 ), semaphorin 3B (sema3B), hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ), and apoptosis in the hippocampus of diabetic rats. METHODS: 48 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: healthy control (C), diabetes control (D), regular wheel running + diabetes (RWD), complex wheel running + diabetes (CWD), healthy regular wheel running (RW), and healthy complex wheel running (CW). The diabetic rat model was produced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The protocol encompassed a 4-week voluntary running training regimen on regular and complex wheel running apparatus. The rats were sacrificed 48 hr after the last training session. To measure the protein concentrations within the hippocampus, ELISA has been utilized. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in OGG1 protein levels between the groups. H2 O2 level in the D group was significantly higher than the C group (p = .002), while this in RWD and CWD groups was considerably lower than the D group (p = .002 and p = .003, respectively). In the D group, the levels of apoptosis and Sema3B were significantly (p = .001 and p = .007, respectively) higher than C, RWD (p = .001, p = .0001, respectively), and CWD groups (p = .001, p = .006, respectively). Nevertheless, there were not any significant differences between RWD and CWD groups. CONCLUSION: The increased levels of Sema3B, H2O2, and apoptosis within the hippocampus associated with diabetes could be noticeably restored by both types of voluntary wheel running protocols.

Comparing the effects of progressive and mild intensity treadmill running protocols on neuroprotection of parkinsonian rats.

AIMS: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by progressive loss of dopamine cells. It is suggested that exercise could be employed as a non-pharmacological approach for reducing the risk of PD incidence. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 4-week Mild-intensity (MIEx) and progressive exercise (PEx) protocols on rotational behavior, GFAP, DA, TH, MANF, CDNF and NGF levels in striatum of parkinsonian rats induced by 6-hydroxydopamine. METHODS: 42 Wistar male rats were divided into 6 groups including, healthy and PD controls, MIEx, PEx, healthy MIEx, and healthy PEx. MIEx protocol was performed as follows: 5 days a week, 2 sessions a day of 15 min at a speed of 15 m/min. PEx protocol encompassed a training regimen of 5 days a week initiating by 20 min in the first day reaching 50 min on the fifth day and 60 min in the next 3 weeks. PD was induced after training protocol by injection of 6-OHDA into the striatum of rats. For confirming PD, apomorphine rotational test was employed. KEY FINDINGS: The MIEx protocol did not have any positive impacts on the variables except for CDNF (P < 0.0001). Levels of DA (P < 0.0001) and TH (P = 0.0004) increased significantly after performing PEx protocol. Moreover, PEx protocol considerably reduced rotational behavior of rats (P = 0.0244). SIGNIFICANCE: The findings of this research confirm positive effects of PEx in protecting against PD. This progressive training protocol has explicitly shown a neuroprotective effect against PD-inducing nervous toxin through increasing neurotrophins.