The Effect of Continuous Endurance Training on the Level of TMOD2 Protein in the Spinal Cord of Wistar Male Rats with Diabetic Neuropathy

The reduction in neurogenesis capacity is the main factor involved in diabetic neuropathy. Tropomodulin 2 (TMOD2) is one of the new outgrowth proteins which play a potential role in axonal growth. This protein regulates the formation of the neuron. In this regard, this study examined the effect of continuous endurance training on the level of TMOD2 in the spinal cord tissue of Wistar male rats with diabetic neuropathy.
This is an experimental study in which 44 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into four groups (healthy control, healthy exercise, diabetes control and diabetes exercise). Induction of diabetes was performed by intraperitoneal injection of the streptozotocin solution (45 mg / kg). Two weeks after the streptozotocin injection, a continuous endurance training program with a 50% -55% Vo2max intensity was performed for six weeks. Then the rats were dissected, and sensory neurons L4-L6 were extracted from the spinal cord. The protein expression was performed by immunohistochemistry. One-way ANOVA tests were used to compare the differences between the groups.
The results of behavioral measurements indicated the development of a diabetic neuropathy model. Also, a significant difference in the level of TMOD2 was seen between the experimental groups, healthy control, and diabetes control (p=0.004), healthy control and diabetes exercise (p=0.012).
Endurance exercise training provides protective effects against diabetic neuropathy. This neuroprotective mechanism of physical activity can be considered as an effective way to reduce the nervous system complications of diabetes.