Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Int J Sports Med. 2020 Oct;41(13):951-961. doi: 10.1055/a-1195-2737. Epub 2020 Jul 8.
Exercise has been argued to improve cognitive function in both humans and rodents. Angiogenesis significantly contributes to brain health, including cognition. The hippocampus is a crucial brain region for cognitive function. However, studies quantifying the capillary changes in the hippocampus after running exercise are lacking. Moreover, the molecular details underlying the effects of running exercise remain poorly understood. We show that endogenous nitric oxide contributes to the beneficial effects of running exercise on cognition and hippocampal capillaries. Four weeks of running exercise significantly improved spatial memory ability and increased the number of capillaries in the cornu ammonis 1 subfield and dentate gyrus of Sprague-Dawley rats. Running exercise also significantly increased nitric oxide synthase activity and nitric oxide content in the rat hippocampus. After blocking the synthesis of endogenous nitric oxide by lateral ventricular injection of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, a nonspecific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, the protective effect of running exercise on spatial memory was eliminated. The protective effect of running exercise on angiogenesis in the cornu ammonis 1 subfield and dentate gyrus of rats was also absent after nitric oxide synthase inhibition. Therefore, during running excise, endogenous nitric oxide may contribute to regulating spatial memory ability and angiogenesis in cornu ammonis 1 subfield and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus.
运动被认为可以改善人类和啮齿动物的认知功能。血管生成对大脑健康，包括认知功能，有重要贡献。海马体是大脑认知功能的关键区域。然而，目前缺乏关于跑步运动后海马体毛细血管变化的定量研究。此外，跑步运动对认知功能的影响的分子细节仍知之甚少。我们发现内源性一氧化氮有助于跑步运动对认知和海马毛细血管的有益作用。四周的跑步运动显著提高了 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠的空间记忆能力，并增加了 CA1 区和齿状回的毛细血管数量。跑步运动还显著增加了大鼠海马中的一氧化氮合酶活性和一氧化氮含量。通过向侧脑室注射非特异性一氧化氮合酶抑制剂 NG-硝基-L-精氨酸甲酯阻断内源性一氧化氮的合成后，跑步运动对空间记忆的保护作用被消除。抑制一氧化氮合酶后，跑步运动对大鼠 CA1 区和齿状回血管生成的保护作用也消失了。因此，在跑步运动过程中，内源性一氧化氮可能有助于调节 CA1 区和齿状回的空间记忆能力和血管生成。
