2024, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (26): 4113-4120

Effects of aerobic exercise on the expression of Notch1 and Caspase-3 in the hippocampus of Alzheimer’s disease mice

Yang Liyuan1, Zhang Yeting2, Li Chuikun1, Wei Cuilan3   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: β-amyloid protein and Tau protein have adverse effects on the cognitive function of Alzheimer’s disease patients, and Notch1 and Caspase-3 can regulate the expression of β-amyloid protein and Tau protein. It is not clear whether Notch1 and Caspase-3 mediate the process of aerobic exercise to improve the cognitive ability of Alzheimer’s disease patients. At present, there is a lack of studies on the effect of long-term aerobic exercise on the expression of Notch1 and Caspase-3 in the hippocampus of Alzheimer’s disease mice.
OBJECTIVE: To observe the expression of Notch1 and Caspase-3 in the hippocampus of Alzheimer’s disease mice undergoing long-term aerobic exercise and to investigate the effects of Notch1 and Caspase-3 in Alzheimer’s disease mice.
METHODS: Wild type and APP/PS1 double-transgenic Alzheimer’s disease mice aged 3 months were randomly divided into four groups: wild control group, wild exercise group, Alzheimer’s disease control group and Alzheimer’s disease exercise group, with 20 mice in each group. Mice in the control groups were not subjected to exercise, while those in the exercise groups received aerobic exercise intervention for 5 months. After the exercise intervention, Morris water maze was used to detect the spatial learning and memory ability of mice. Real-time PCR, immunofluorescence and western blot were used to detect the expressions of Aβ1-42, Tau, Notch1 and Caspase-3 in the hippocampal tissues of mice in each group.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The spatial learning and memory ability of Alzheimer’s mice was significantly worse than that of wild-type mice (P < 0.05). The spatial learning and memory ability of mice in the exercise groups were significantly better than that in the corresponding control groups (P < 0.05). The expressions of Aβ1-42, Tau, Notch1 and Caspase-3 in the hippocampus were significantly higher in the Alzheimer’s disease control group than the wild control group (P < 0.05) and were significantly lower in the Alzheimer’s disease exercise group than the Alzheimer’s disease control group (P < 0.05). To conclude, long-term aerobic exercise can improve the spatial learning and memory ability of Alzheimer’s disease mice, which may be related to the decreased expression of Notch1, Caspase-3, Aβ1-42 and Tau protein in the hippocampus of Alzheimer’s disease mice.

Key words: Alzheimer’s disease, aerobic exercise, learning and memory ability, Notch1, Caspase-3