Aerobic exercise combined with huwentoxin-I mitigates chronic cerebral ischemia injury

作者:Mao, Hai-feng; Xie, Jun; Chen, Jia-qin*; Tang, Chang-fa; Chen, Wei; Zhou, Bo-cun; Chen, Rui; Qu, Hong-lin; Wu, Chu-zu
来源:Neural Regeneration Research, 2017, 12(4): 596-602.
DOI:10.4103/1673-5374.205099

摘要

Ca2+ channel blockers have been shown to protect neurons from ischemia, and aerobic exercise has significant protective effects on a variety of chronic diseases. The present study injected huwentoxin-I (HWTX-I), a spider peptide toxin that blocks Ca2+ channels, into the caudal vein of a chronic cerebral ischemia mouse model, once every 2 days, for a total of 15 injections. During this time, a subgroup of mice was subjected to treadmill exercise for 5 weeks. Results showed amelioration of cortical injury and improved neurological function in mice with chronic cerebral ischemia in the HWTX-I + aerobic exercise group. The combined effects of HWTX-I and exercise were superior to HWTX-I or aerobic exercise alone. HWTX-I effectively activated the Notch signal transduction pathway in brain tissue. Aerobic exercise up-regulated synaptophysin mRNA expression. These results demonstrated that aerobic exercise, in combination with HWTX-I, effectively relieved neuronal injury induced by chronic cerebral ischemia via the Notch signaling pathway and promoting synaptic regeneration.