Effect of 8 weeks of Aerobic Training on Genes Expression of Hypoxia Inducible Factor HIF-1α, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Angiostatin in Hippocampus of Male Rats with Wistar Model

Many studies have been done about the effects of exercise on angiogenic inhibitor and stimulator factors in muscles, but few studies have examined the role of these factors in the brain especially the hippocampus. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic training on gene expression of HIF-1α, VEGF and angiostatin in hippocampus of male rats.

18 adult male Wistar rats (190±10 gr) were randomly divided into 3 groups: control, sham and aerobic training. Ratsin the training group performed 8 weeks of aerobic training (5 sessions per week) on a treadmill. 24 hours after the last session of exercise, rats were decapitated and the hippocampus were carefully removed and rapidly frozen in liquid nitrogen, then stored at -80°C for further analysis. Real-Time-PCR method was used to measure the expression of genes in the hippocampus. The data were analyzed by SPSS 18 software. Comparisons between groups were performed by one-way ANOVA and followed by post-hoc analysis Tukey test. All statistically significant was set at P<0.05.

The results showed aerobic training significantly increased mRNA levels of HIF-1α (P=0.001) and VEGF (P=0.001), but there was no significant difference in the mRNA levels of angiostatin (P=0.316).

According to the results of this study and changes in the levels of HIF-1α and VEGF, it seems aerobic training has helpful effects on brain especially on the hippocampus and this type of training is recommended for individuals.