Changes in Calcium-binding Proteins in the Rat Hippocampus after Involuntary Treadmill Exercise

초록

In this study, we investigated the effects of treadmill exercise on hippocampal levels of calcium-bindingproteins - calbindin D-28k (CB), calretinin (CR) and parvalbumin (PV) - using immunohistochemistry and Westernblot analysis. At 6 weeks of age, male Wistar rats were put on a treadmill with or without running for 1 h/day/5 consecutivedays at a pace of 22 m/min for a period of 5 weeks. In sedentary and exercise groups, CB immunoreaction wasdetected in granule cells of the dentate gyrus, mossy fibers, and CA1 pyramidal cells. In addition, CB immunoreactionwas observed in interneurons of the CA1-3 region. Exercise significantly increased CB immunoreactivity in dentategranule cells, CA1 pyramidal cells and CA1-3 interneurons. CR immunoreaction was mainly observed in interneuronsof the dentate gyrus and CA1-3 regions. Similar number of CR-immunoreactive neurons was observed in the exerciseand sedentary groups. PV immunoreaction was detected in interneurons of the dentate gyrus and CA1-3 regions. PVimmunoreactivefibers were significantly increased in all regions of the hippocampus in the exercise group, as comparedto the sedentary group. Similar to the immunohistochemical findings, protein levels of CB and PV were also increasedin the exercise group compared to the sedentary group. These increases in CB and PV in the hippocampus may induceneuronal plasticity after treadmill exercise and may be related to the enhancement of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampusby exercise.

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