Introduction: Exercise through BDNF induces its beneficial effects on the brain. However, its cellular mechanisms are not fully understood. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks interval aerobic training on mRNA expression of SIRT1, CREB and BDNF genes in the hippocampus of male Westar rats.
Methods: Twelve 8 week old rats were the subjects of this study rats were randomly divided into two groups: exercise group and control group animals in the exercise group experienced interval aerobic exercise for 8 weeks (5 sessions per week at a speed of 10 to 15 m/min). Forty-eight hours after the last training session, animals were sacrificed and hippocampal tissue was extracted. mRNA expression of SIRT1, CREB and BDNF genes was determined by the real-time PCR method. An independent t-test was used to compare groups and significant differences were considered at the P≤0.05 level.
Results: The results showed that the expression of SIRT1, CREB and BDNF mRNA levels in hippocampal tissue of the exercised group were significantly increased (P ≤0.001).
Conclusion: Overall, it appears that interval aerobic exercise is able to upregulate brain BDNF levels through the SIRT1/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway hence, this type of exercise training can be used to induce the beneficial effects of exercise on brain health.