Aerobic Exercise Ameliorates Cognitive Disorder and Declined Oxidative Stress via Modulating the Nrf2 Signaling Pathway in d-galactose Induced Aging Mouse Model

• DOI: 10.1007/s11064-024-04164-2
• Publication Date: 2024-06-06T03:49:42Z
• Authors: Guangjing Xie; Zixuan Xu; Feizhou Li; Meng Kong; Ping Wang; Yuping Shao
• Keywords: Mice, Inbred C57BL; Male; Oxidative Stress; Aging; Mice; Disease Models, Animal; NF-E2-Related Factor 2; Physical Conditioning, Animal; Animals; Galactose; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cognition Disorders; Signal Transduction

The aim of this research was to explore the potential of treadmill exercise in preventing brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases caused by oxidative stress, by studying its effects on D-galactose-induced mice and the mechanisms involved. The results showed that C57BL/6 mice induced with D-gal exhibited cognitive impairment and oxidative stress damage, which was ameliorated by treadmill exercise. The Morris water maze also showed that exercise improved cognitive performance in aging mice and alleviated hippocampal and mitochondrial damage. The study also found that treadmill exercise increased the expression of nuclear factor Nrf2, p-GSK3β, HO-1, NQO1, BDNF, and Bcl-2 proteins while decreasing the expression of Bax. Furthermore, there was a substantial increase in the levels of CAT, GSH-PX and SOD in the serum, along with a decrease in MDA levels. The outcomes propose that aerobic exercise has the potential to hinder oxidative stress and cell death in mitochondria through the modulation of the Nrf2/GSK3β signaling pathway, thus improving cognitive impairment observed in the aging model induced by D-galactose. It appears that treadmill exercise could potentially serve as an effective therapeutic approach to mitigating brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases triggered by oxidative stress.