Short-term effect of low-, moderate-, and high-intensity exercise training on cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) and oxidative stress biomarkers in brain male Wistar rats

Neurotrophic factors and exercise training are effective in the growth and survival of neuronal cells. These factors play a protective role against oxidative stress damage and have the same function as antioxidants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a session of endurance training with three different intensities on CDNF, SOD, and MDA levels of cerebral cortex in male rats. Thirty-two male Wistar rats (aged 20 weeks) were divided randomly into two control and training groups. The training group consisted of low-, moderate-, and high-intensity trainings. The training groups, after getting familiarization with the rodent treadmill, were dealt with an acute training session with three different intensities. The CDNF level of cerebral cortex was measured by ELISA assay, and the SOD and MDA levels of cerebral cortex by spectrophotometery. A significant difference was seen in the CDNF level between low- and high-intensity groups, as well as between high-intensity groups and control group (P = 0.001). The levels of SOD were increased significantly among all groups (except for control and low-intensity groups). The acute training with different intensities significantly prevents the increase in MDA level of cerebral cortex (P = 0.005). The result of this study shows that the physical exercise even in the short term can affect the protective factors and antioxidant system in neuronal cells. However, the benefits of high-intensity training were higher than others. Therefore, suggested that the role of acute exercise with different intensities should be carefully considered for the preconditioning against neuronal degenerative diseases.