Effect of treadmill exercise on miR-191-5p expression in the hippocampus of sleep-deprived rats

The positive and protective effects of regular exercise on the learning and memory impairments induced by sleep deprivation (SD) have been demonstrated in previous studies, and recently, it was found that miR-191-5p by targeting BDNF as an essential factor in cognitive function causes memory and learning impairments in sleep deprivation conditions. This study aims to investigate the effects of regular treadmill exercise on the expression of miR-191-5p in sleep-deprived rats. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats are more vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation than intact rats. In this study, we performed our experiments on OVX female rats. MiRNAs are vital regulators of many biological functions, mainly brain functions such as learning and memory. The effect of 72 hours of sleep deprivation and four weeks of treadmill exercise on the expression of miR-191-5p and BDNF was investigated. Seventy-two hours of sleep deprivation was performed using the multiple platform method, and the exercise protocol was four weeks of regular treadmill exercise. Expression of miR-191-5p and BDNF was done using the Real-time PCR method. Sleep deprivation down-regulated the level of miR-191-5p and BDNF, all of which were ameliorated by four weeks of treadmill exercise. Despite increased BDNF expression in exercised rats, miR-191-5p did not show significant changes. The mechanism of the possible effect of exercise on the expression of BDNF was independent of its effect on the expression of miR-191-5p.