Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, 1st Youyi Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, People's Republic of China.
Neurol Sci. 2014 May;35(5):761-6. doi: 10.1007/s10072-013-1599-y. Epub 2013 Dec 11.
It has been well documented that exercise promotes neurological rehabilitation in patients with cerebral ischemia. However, the exact mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to discuss the effect of treadmill exercise on expression levels of 5-HT, 5-HT1A receptor (5-HT1AR) and brain derived neurophic factor (BDNF) in rat brains after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). A total of 55 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: pMCAO group, pMCAO and treadmill exercise (pMCAO + Ex) group, and sham-operated group. Rats in pMCAO + Ex group underwent treadmill exercise for 16 days. Neurological function was evaluated by modified Neurological Severity Scores (mNSS). High-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection system was used to determine the content of 5-HT in cortex tissues. The protein levels of 5-HT1AR, BDNF and synaptophysin were measured by Western blot. The mNSS in pMCAO + Ex group was lower than that in pMCAO group on day 19 post-MCAO (p < 0.001). The content of 5-HT dropped to 3.81 ± 1.86 ng/ml in pMCAO group (43.84 ± 2.05 ng/ml in sham-operated group), but increased in pMCAO + Ex group (10.06 ± 1.80 ng/ml). The protein expressions levels of synaptophysin, 5-HT1AR and BDNF were downregulated after cerebral ischemia (p < 0.05), and upregulated after treadmill exercise (p < 0.05). These results indicate that treadmill exercise improves neurologic function, enhances neuronal plasticity and upregulates the levels of 5-HT, 5-HT1AR and BDNF in rats with pMCAO.
已有大量文献证实，运动可促进脑缺血患者的神经康复。然而，其确切机制尚未完全阐明。本研究旨在探讨慢性强迫跑步机运动对永久性大脑中动脉闭塞（pMCAO）大鼠大脑中 5-羟色胺（5-HT）、5-羟色胺 1A 受体（5-HT1AR）和脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）表达水平的影响。将 55 只大鼠随机分为 3 组：pMCAO 组、pMCAO 合并跑步机运动（pMCAO+Ex）组和假手术组。pMCAO+Ex 组大鼠进行 16 天跑步机运动。采用改良神经功能缺损评分（mNSS）评估神经功能。高效液相色谱-电化学检测系统测定皮质组织中 5-HT 含量。Western blot 法检测 5-HT1AR、BDNF 和突触小体蛋白的蛋白水平。MCAO 后 19 天，pMCAO+Ex 组大鼠 mNSS 评分低于 pMCAO 组（p<0.001）。pMCAO 组 5-HT 含量降至 3.81±1.86ng/ml（假手术组为 43.84±2.05ng/ml），pMCAO+Ex 组升高至 10.06±1.80ng/ml。脑缺血后突触小体蛋白、5-HT1AR 和 BDNF 的蛋白表达水平下调（p<0.05），跑步机运动后上调（p<0.05）。这些结果表明，跑步机运动可改善 pMCAO 大鼠的神经功能，增强神经元可塑性，并上调 5-HT、5-HT1AR 和 BDNF 的水平。
