Treadmill exercise ameliorates focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-induced neurological deficit by promoting dendritic modification and synaptic plasticity via upregulating caveolin-1/VEGF signaling pathways.

Treadmill exercise ameliorates focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-induced neurological deficit by promoting dendritic modification and synaptic plasticity via upregulating caveolin-1/VEGF signaling pathways. Exp Neurol. 2018 Dec 12;: Authors: Xie Q, Cheng J, Pan G, Wu S, Hu Q, Jiang H, Wang Y, Xiong J, Pang Q, Chen X Abstract Dendritic and synaptic plasticity in the penumbra are important processes and are considered to be therapeutic targets of ischemic stroke. Treadmill exercise is known to be a beneficial treatment following stroke. However, its effects and potential mechanism in promoting dendritic and synaptic plasticity remain unknown. We have previously demonstrated that the caveolin-1/VEGF signaling pathway plays a positive role in angiogenesis and neurogenesis. Here, we further investigated the effects of treadmill exercise on promoting dendritic and synaptic plasticity in the penumbra and whether they involve the caveolin-1/VEGF signaling pathway. A middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) animal model was established, and rats were randomly divided into eleven groups. At 2 days after MCAO, rats were subjected to treadmill exercise for 7 or 28 days. Daidzein (a specific inhibitor of caveolin-1, 0.4 mg/kg) was used to confirm the effect of caveolin-1/VEGF signaling on exercise-mediated dendritic and synaptic plasticity. Neurobehavioral performance, tissue morphology and infarct volumes were detected by Modified Neurolo...
Source: Experimental Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Exp Neurol Source Type: research