Effect of aerobic intermittent exercise on the decreased cognitive ability induced by PM 2.5 exposure in rats

• Published in: Translational Exercise Biomedicine Vol. 1; no. 2; pp. 170 - 181
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhongwei, Qin, Fei, Wu, Dongzhe, Xu, Minxiao, Cui, Shuqiang, Zhao, Jiexiu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 04.09.2024
• ISSN: 2942-6812; 2942-6812
• DOI: 10.1515/teb-2024-0009

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of aerobic intermittent exercise on cognitive impairment by PM 2.5 exposure. Methods Thirty-two rats were randomly divided into four groups: sedentary, exercise, sedentary + PM 2.5 exposure, and exercise + PM 2.5 exposure. The exercise groups underwent 8 weeks of exercise training (5 days of exercise per week). Subsequently, PM 2.5 exposure groups were subjected to PM 2.5 for three weeks. Post-exposure, we assessed cognitive abilities (shuttle box test), hippocampal tissue structure, related inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β), the protein of inflammatory responses mechanism (P65, IκκB) and cognitive-related protein levels (BDNF, Aβ-42). Results PM 2.5 exposure caused cognitive impairment, abnormal histopathological changes, reduced cognitive related protein and increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. Analysis of shuttle box test data revealed significant main effects on the passive avoidance latency times measured in rats (p<0.05). Aerobic intermittent exercise improves spatial learning decline in rats induced by PM 2.5 . Conversely, the Exercise + PM 2.5 group demonstrated a significant reduction in latency of 24.9 % compared to the Sedentary + PM 2.5 group (p<0.05, ES=1.41). Conclustion Aerobic intermittent exercise may help in protecting against the decrease of cognitive ability induced by PM 2.5 exposure.