[Aerobic exercise combined with huwentoxin-I upregulates phase-Ⅱ detoxification enzymes to alleviate obstructive jaundice-induced central nervous system injury in mice].

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effects of aerobic exercise combined with huwentoxin-I (HWTX-I)-mediated Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway on phase II detoxification enzymes HO-1 and NQO1 and their protective effects against obstructive jaundice (OJ)-induced central nervous system injury in mice.

METHODS

50 male KM mice were randomly divided into blank group (GO), model group (M), aerobic exercise group (T), HWTX-I group (H), and aerobic exercise combined with HWTX-I group (TH). Mouse models of OJ were established with surgical suture for 72 h in the mice in all the groups except for the blank control group. The mice received interventions by aerobic exercise and tail vein injection of HWTX-I (0.05 μg/g) and were assessed by behavioral observation, Clark's neurological function scores, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), brain tissue Nissl staining, hippocampal tissue Western blotting, and liver tissue mRNA expression profiling and sequencing.

RESULTS

The mice in group M had obvious jaundice symptoms after the operation with significantly increased Clark's neurological score ( < 0.01). Compared with those in group M, the mice in group T, group H, and group TH showed significantly decreased serum levels of ALT, AST, TBIL, and TBA ( < 0.01) with increased contents of 5-HT and BDNF and decreased contents of S100B and NSE in the hippocampus ( < 0.01). Synergistic effects between aerobic exercise and HWTX-I were noted on the above parameters except for the liver function indicators. Interventions with aerobic exercise and HWTX-I, alone or in combination, obviously lessened pathologies in the brain tissue induced by OJ, and the combined treatment produced the strongest effect. The treatment also increased the expression levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 mRNA and protein in brain tissues ( < 0.01 or 0.05) with a synergistic effect between aerobic exercise and HWTX-I. Illumina high-throughput sequencing showed that the differentially expressed factors participated mainly in such neural regulatory pathways as neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, GABAergic synapses, dopaminergic synapses, synaptic vesicle circulation, and axon guidance, involving tissue cell neuronal signal transduction, apoptosis inhibition, immune response, and toxicity. Aerobic exercise and HWTX-I synergistically increased the accumulation of the signal pathways related with neuron damage repair and proliferation.

CONCLUSIONS

Aerobic exercise combined with HWTX-I can up-regulate the expression of phase Ⅱ detoxification enzymes HO-1 and NQO1 through the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway to protect the central nervous system against OJ-induced damage in mice.