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The Effect of Involuntary Exercise on Expression of Glial Cell line‐Derived Neurotrophic Factor Protein in Rat Heart
Author(s) -
Sharma Shailja Poonj,
Spitsbergen John Martin
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a568-d
Subject(s) - glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor , neurotrophic factors , ventricle , medicine , endocrinology , neurotrophin , heart rate , receptor , blood pressure
Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent neurotrophic factor that is vital to the survival and function of sympathetic, parasympathetic and sensory neurons. Changes in GDNF expression may be involved in mediating the positive effects of exercise training on nervous system structure and function. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that increased physical activity will result in elevated GDNF protein expression in rat heart. Five eight week old Fisher 344 rats were exercised for three weeks, at a rate of 15m/min in involuntary running wheels for 30 min, six days per week. Five sedentary control rats were maintained in cages without running wheels. Exercised and sedentary animals were sacrificed after three weeks. Hearts were removed, rinsed to remove blood and separated into left and right atria and left and right ventricle. Tissue samples were pulverized, homogenized and the supernatant was analyzed using Enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) for GDNF protein. Results showed no change in GDNF protein content of left atria or ventricles with exercise. However GDNF protein content of right atria decreased with exercise (1.2 ± 0.1 pg/mg versus 0.6 ± 0.1 pg/mg). This finding is contrary to what was observed with rats subjected to fourteen weeks of voluntary exercise. The difference between these studies may relate to type of exercise (involuntary vs voluntary) or intensity and duration of exercise. Future studies are planned to elucidate these differences. This work was supported by NIH grant 1 R15 AGO22908 ‐01A2, the Faculty Research and Creative Activities Support Fund at Western Michigan University, and MSU‐KCMS.