Endurance Exercise Training Attenuates the up Regulation of iNOS in the Skeletal Muscles of Chronic/Progressive Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly. PD complications include muscle weakness and fatigue, these complications lead in part to decrease the endurance of PD patients. Strength of skeletal muscles has a major role in ADL performance, which is one of the challenges that PD patients have. The main goals of this study are to study the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the skeletal muscles of PD and to examine the effect of treadmill exercise training on iNOS expression in these skeletal muscles.

Methods: Twenty normal albino mice and 20 albino mice with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) -induced PD were divided into four groups: sedentary control (SC), exercised control (EC), sedentary PD (SPD), and EPD (EPD). Parkinsonism was induced by injections of 10 doses of MPTP (25 mg/kg) and probenecid (250 mg/kg) over 5 weeks. After the completetion of treadmill exercise training, samples from the gastroc and soleus muscles were evaluated by immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of iNOS in the four groups of animals.

Results: Expression of iNOS in gastrocnemius muscle showed significant increase in expression of iNOS is SPD group compared to SC, # P value < 0.05. In soleus muscle, there was an increase in expression of iNOS is SPD group compared to SC, but the change was not significant, P value < 0.08. Also, exercise did not significantly decrease the expression of iNOS in Parkinsonian group P value < 0.13.

Conclusion: Our present data suggest that endurance exercise training reduces PD-induced alterations in iNOS expression in skeletal muscles. These results might be important in considering rehabilitation protocols for PD and its related pathophysiology.




J Neurol Res. 2013;3(3-4):108-113
doi: https://doi.org/10.4021/jnr217w