title: Postnatal Treadmill Exercise Alleviates Prenatal Stress-Induced Anxiety in Offspring Rats by Enhancing Cell Proliferation Through 5-Hydroxytryptamine 1A Receptor Activation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Stress during pregnancy is a risk factor for the development of anxiety-related disorders in offspring later in life. The effects of treadmill exercise on anxiety-like behaviors and hippocampal cell proliferation were investigated using rats exposed to prenatal stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Exposure of pregnant rats to a hunting dog in an enclosed room was used to induce stress. Anxiety-like behaviors of offspring were evaluated using the elevated plus maze test. Immunohistochemistry for the detection of 5-bromo-2ʹ- deoxyuridine and doublecortin (DCX) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptors (5-HT1A) in the dorsal raphe was conducted. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) levels in the hippocampus were evaluated by western blot analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Offspring of maternal rats exposed to stress during pregnancy showed anxiety-like behaviors. Offspring also showed reduced expression of BDNF, TrkB, and DCX in the dentate gyrus, decreased cell proliferation in the hippocampus, and reduced 5-HT1A expression in the dorsal raphe. Postnatal treadmill exercise by offspring, but not maternal exercise during pregnancy, enhanced cell proliferation and expression of these proteins.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Postnatal treadmill exercise ameliorated anxiety-like behaviors in offspring of stressed pregnant rats, and the alleviating effect of exercise on these behaviors is hypothesized to result from enhancement of cell proliferation through 5-HT1A activation in offspring rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, College of Health, Welfare, and Education, Tong Myong University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sam Jun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8491-3602
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Woon
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8832-0874
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hun Kyung
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3447-8750
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sangyun
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3204-6911
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ann Hee
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8775-5582
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Jin
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9871-1473
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hoon
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6551-1897
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hanjin
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1303-304X
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cho
keywords: Anxiety; Cell Proliferation; Exercise Test; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Serotonin