title: Treadmill exercise enhances spatial learning ability through suppressing hippocampal apoptosis in Huntington's disease rats.
abstract: Huntington's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, and characterized as involuntary movement. Quinolinic acid has been used to produce an animal model of Huntington's disease. In the present study, the effect of treadmill exercise on spatial-learning ability and motor coordination focusing on the apoptosis in the hippocampus was investigated using quinolinic acid-induced Huntington's disease rats. Huntington's disease was induced by unilateral intrastriatal injection of quinolinic acid (2 μL of 100 nmol) using stereotaxic instrument. The rats in the treadmill exercise groups were subjected to run on a treadmill for 30 min once a day during 14 days. Spatial learning ability and motor coordination were determined by radial 8-arm maze test and rota-rod test. Immunohistochemistry for caspase-3 and western blot for Bax and Bcl-2 were also conducted for the detection of apoptosis. In the present results, spatial learning ability and motor coordination were deteriorated by intrastriatal injection of quinolinic acid. In contrast, treadmill exercise exerted ameliorating effect on quinolinic acid-induced deterioration of spatial learning ability and motor coordination. Bcl-2 expression in the hippocampus was de-creased and expressions of casepase-3 and Bax in the hippocampus were increased in the quinolinic acid-induced Huntington's disease rats. Treadmill exercise increased Bcl-2 expression and decreased expressions of casepase-3 and Bax in the Huntington's disease rats. The present results showed that treadmill exercise might ameliorate quinolinic acid-induced loss of spatial learning ability and motor coordination by suppressing apoptosis in the hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Sang
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: You-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Mal-Soon
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang-Ju
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Sports Science, National University of Incheon, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Sik
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise & Sport Science, College of Natural Sciences, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Kijeong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Jonglin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Department of Golf Mapping, College of Arts Physical Education, Joongbu University, Geumsan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Rak
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Chung
keywords: Apoptosis; Huntington’s disease; Motor coordination; Quinolinic acid; Spatial learning ability; Treadmill exercise