Abstract
[Purpose]To determine whether voluntary exercise (wheel running) has the potential of relieving stress. [Methods]In this study, restraint stress with or without voluntary wheel running was performed for mice housed in individual cages. A total of 21 ICR male mice were assigned into control (CON), restraint stress with voluntary exercise (RSVE), or restraint stress (RS) without voluntary exercise groups (n = 7 each). [Results]No significant difference in body weight increase was found among the three groups, although CON and RS groups had a tendency of having smaller body weight increase compared to the RSVE group. No significant difference in the expression level of liver heat shock protein 70, Bcl-2, or p53 was found among the three groups. However, caspase-3 protein level in RS group was significantly higher than that in the other two groups. Blood cortisol concentration in RS was higher (p < 0.05) than that in RSVE or CON group. It was the lowest (p < 0.05) in the RSVE group. [Conclusion]Our findings suggest that apoptosis caused by chronic restraint stress might be suppressed by voluntary exercise in mice.
Highlights
It has been reported that repeated and stressful situation can cause chronic stress in animals and lead to hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis change[1]
We examined the effect of voluntary exercise on apoptosis and blood cortisol level using chronic restraint stress mice model
After restraint stress for 14 days, body weight gain is suppressed from the third day of the experiment
Summary
It has been reported that repeated and stressful situation can cause chronic stress in animals and lead to hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis change[1]. Restraint stress can reduce serum levels of Bcl-2, estradiol, and IGF-I but increase the levels of cortisol and progesterone[3]. From another perspective, carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids have been reported to be preferred by people with chronic stress, resulting in weight gain[4]. Exercise can enhance resistance to stress and suppressed anxiety. It can reduce depression in human and animals[6]. 60 min of exercise training can increase the level of Bcl-2 while decreasing the levels of caspases 9, 3, 8, and 1211. High-intensity exercise can induce cell death and leukocytic apoptosis[12,13]
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