Abstract
The inducible nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide (iNOS/NO) signaling pathway and inflammatory cytokines play important roles in the pathogenesis of exercise-induced fatigue. Studies have found that Mongolian warm acupuncture (WA) could alleviate exercise-induced fatigue. However, the exact mechanisms underlying its effects remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Mongolian WA on iNOS/NO signaling pathway and proinflammatory cytokines in a chronic exhaustive swimming-induced fatigue rat model. Animals were randomly divided into Control group, Ctrl + WA group, Model group, and Model + WA group. The body weight, exhaustive swimming time test, and Morris water maze test were performed before and after the chronic exhaustive swimming. The serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and iNOS were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mRNA expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and iNOS in the hippocampus were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Moreover, the protein expression of iNOS in the hippocampus was measured by western blot, and the NO productions in the serum and hippocampus were detected by Griess reaction system. Chronic exhaustive exercise significantly reduced the body weight and exhaustive swimming time, and induced impairment in learning and memory, and which were reversed by WA treatment. Chronic exhaustive exercise also increased the expressions of iNOS and proinflammatory cytokines, while WA treatment significantly decreased the level of iNOS and proinflammatory cytokines. However, chronic exhaustive exercise did not affect the NO production. These findings demonstrated that WA could alleviate the chronic exhaustive swimming-induced fatigue and improve the learning and memory ability, and the actions might be related to the reduction of inflammatory response and iNOS expression.
Highlights
The aims of training in sport are to improve and optimize the performance
The results showed that chronic exhaustive exercise significantly reduced the body weight and exhaustive swimming time, and induced the impairment in learning and memory, which were reversed by warm acupuncture (WA) treatment
These findings demonstrated that WA could alleviate the chronic exhaustive swimming-induced fatigue and improve the learning and memory ability, and the effect may be achieved by downregulating the iNOS level and reducing the expressions of proinflammatory cytokines
Summary
The aims of training in sport are to improve and optimize the performance. When the daily strength, duration, and workload of exercise are adequate, positive physiological adaptations occur in muscle and other tissues, and physical performance is generally enhanced (Li et al, 2019). When excessive and prolonged training stresses are applied, concurrent with other stressors and insufficient recovery, performance decrements and chronic maladaptations could occur (Meeusen et al, 2007). Chronic exhaustive exercise might cause mechanical injury of muscles and activates macrophages, which results in increased synthesis and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). These cytokines stimulate macrophages to secrete prostaglandins causing muscle soreness, and lead to exercise-induced fatigue (Pawlik et al, 2016; Kawamura et al, 2018; Yang et al, 2019). The exhaustive exercise stress could induce neuroinflammatory response in the hippocampus and cause brain damage, which impairs learning and memory (Schwarz et al, 2018; Morgan et al, 2019)
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