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Involuntary, Forced and Voluntary Exercises Equally Attenuate Neurocognitive Deficits in Vascular Dementia by the BDNF–pCREB Mediated Pathway

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Abstract

A rat model of vascular dementia was used to compare the effects of involuntary exercise induced by functional electrical stimulation (FES), forced exercise and voluntary exercise on the recovery of cognitive function recovery and its underlying mechanisms. In an involuntary exercise (I-EX) group, FES was used to induce involuntary gait-like running on ladder at 12 m/min. A forced exercise group (F-EX) and a voluntary exercise group (V-EX) exercised by wheel running. The Barnes maze was used for behavioral assessment. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) positive cells in hippocampal CA1, CA2/3 and dentate gyrus (DG) regions were evaluated using immunohistochemical methods. Western blotting was used to assess the levels of BDNF, phosphorylated protein kinase B (Akt), tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 and 2 (MEK1/2), ERK1/2 and CREB in BDNF-pCREB signaling in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Involuntary, forced and voluntary exercises were all found to reverse the cognitive deficits of vascular dementia with about equal effectiveness. The number of BDNF, pCREB and pERK1/2 immunopositive cells was significantly increased in the hippocampal CA1, CA2/3 and DG regions in all three exercise groups. In addition, involuntary exercise activated BDNF and the phosphorylation of Akt, TrkB, MEK1/2, ERK1/2 and CREB in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex equally as well as voluntary or forced exercise. These results suggest that involuntary exercise induced by FES may be as beneficial for alleviating cognitive deficits after cerebral ischemia.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by China’s National Natural Science Foundation (No. 81171863) and the Doctoral Fund of China’s Ministry of Education (No. 20120171110079).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 26 Erheng Road, Yuan Village, Guangzhou, 510655, Guangdong, China

      Yangyang Lin

    2. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yanjiang West Road, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, China

      Xiao Lu, Juntao Dong, Tiebin Yan, Minghong Sui, Xiuyuan Zheng, Huihua Liu, Jingpu Zhao & Xinxin Lu

    3. Department of Rehabilitation, Shiyan Taihe Hospital, 32 South Renmin Road, Shiyan, 44200, Hubei, China

      Xiaokuo He

    4. Department of Rehabilitation, People’s Hospital of Zhongshan City, 2 Sunwen East Road, Zhongshan, 528403, Guangdong, China

      Huiying Liang

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    11064_2015_1673_MOESM1_ESM.tif

    Supplementary Fig. 1 The three different exercise patterns. (A) A rat in the involuntary exercise group. One end of each electrode has been implanted in the muscle tendon or belly of the digitorum communis muscle (EDC) and the extensor carpi radialis muscle (ECR) on both forelimbs. The other end pierces the skin of the dorsal neck and was connected to the electrical stimulator. (B) A rat in the forced exercise group running at 12 m/min. (C) A rat in the voluntary exercise group running. The arrow indicates a switch counter recording the number of revolutions (TIFF 30901 kb)

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    Lin, Y., Lu, X., Dong, J. et al. Involuntary, Forced and Voluntary Exercises Equally Attenuate Neurocognitive Deficits in Vascular Dementia by the BDNF–pCREB Mediated Pathway. Neurochem Res 40, 1839–1848 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-015-1673-3

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