Effect of treadmill exercise on apoptosis in the retinas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

트레드밀 운동이 streptozotocin에 의해 유발된 당뇨 쥐의 망막 신경세포 사멸에 미치는 영향

In the present study, we investigated the effect of treadmill exercise on apoptotic neuronal cell death in the retinas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. The animals were divided into four groups(n = 7 in each group):(1) control group, (2) exercise group, (3) diabetes-induced group, (4) diabetes-induced and exercise group. Diabetes mellitus(DM) was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The rats in the exercise groups were forced to run on the treadmill for 30 minutes once a day, five times per a week, during 12 weeks. In this study, a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL) assay and western blot for the expressions of caspase-3, cytochrome c, Bax, and Bcl-2 in the retinas were conducted for the detection of apoptotic retinal cell death. The present results showed that the number of TUNEL-positive cells was increased in the retinas of the diabetic rats, whereas treadmill exercise suppressed this number. The expressions of pro-apoptotic factors caspase-3, cytochrome c, and Bax were enhanced and the expressions of anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 was decreased in the retinas of the diabetic rats. In contrast, treadmill exercise suppressed the expressions of caspase-3, cytochrome c, and Bax and increased the expression of Bcl-2. The present study demonstrated that treadmill exercise suppressed diabetes-induced apoptotic neuronal cell death in the retinas. Based on the present results, treadmill exercise may be effective therapeutic strategy for the alleviating complications of diabetes patients.

본 연구는 당뇨를 유발한 흰쥐에서 트레드밀 운동이 망막 신경세포의 사멸에 억제 효과가 있는지를 실험 하였다. 본 연구에서 Sprague-Dawley계 흰쥐 28마리를 대조군, 운동군, 당뇨군, 당뇨운동군으로 분류하여 각 군당 7마리씩 배정하였다. 당뇨는 streptozotocin을 복강에 주사하여 유발하였다. 운동군은 분당 8 m의 속도로 하루 30분씩 주 5회, 총 12주 동안 트레드밀 운동을 실시하였다. 본 연구의 결과, 당뇨 유발 흰쥐의 망막에서 세포사멸 인자인 terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)-양성 세포수 그리고 caspase-3, cytochrome c, Bax의 발현이 증가되었으며, 항 세포사멸 인자인 Bcl-2의 발현은 감소되었다. 트레드밀 운동은 TUNEL-양성 세포수 그리고 caspase-3, cytochrome c, Bax의 발현을 감소시켰으며, Bcl-2의 발현은 증가시켰다. 본 실험의 결과, 당뇨에 의한 망막의 세포사멸 증가에 트레드밀 운동이 억제 작용을 나타내었으며, 따라서 트레드밀 운동은 당뇨 환자들에서 후유증을 경감시키는데 효과적인 치료법임을 알 수 있었다.