Effects of exercise on capillaries in the white matter of transgenic AD mice.

Effects of exercise on capillaries in the white matter of transgenic AD mice. Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 22;: Authors: Zhang Y, Chao FL, Zhou CN, Jiang L, Zhang L, Chen LM, Luo YM, Xiao Q, Tang Y Abstract Previous studies have shown that exercise can prevent white matter atrophy in APP/PS1 transgenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) mice. However, the mechanism of this protective effect remains unknown. To further understand this issue, we investigated the effects of exercise on the blood supply of white matter in transgenic AD mice. Six-month-old male APP/PS1 mice were randomly divided into a control group and a running group, and age-matched non-transgenic littermates were used as a wild-type control group. Mice in the running group ran on a treadmill at low intensity for four months. Then, spatial learning and memory abilities, white matter and white matter capillaries were examined in all mice. The 10-month-old AD mice exhibited deficits in cognitive function, and 4 months of exercise improved these deficits. The white matter volume and the total length, total volume and total surface area of the white matter capillaries were decreased in the 10-month-old AD mice, and 4 months of exercise dramatically delayed the changes in these parameters in the AD mice. Our results demonstrate that even low-intensity running exercise can improve spatial learning and memory abilities, delay white matter atrophy and protect white matter capillaries in early-s...
Source: Oncotarget - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Oncotarget Source Type: research