The effect of an aerobic exercise period on levels of depression and interleukin-6 cytokine during pregnancy and postpartum in NMRI mice

Abstract

Background & Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an aerobic exercise period on levels of depression and IL-6 concentration during pregnancy and postpartum in NMRI female mice. Methods: In this experimental and baseline study, 40 female NMRI mice were divided into four groups: Non Exercise-Pregnancy (NE,Preg), Non Exercise-Postpartum (NE,PostP), Exercise-Pregnancy (E,Preg), Exercise-Postpartum (E,PostP). After seeing the vaginal plaque and confirming the day of pregnancy of the animals, two running wheels were placed inside the cage of each pregnant animal for aerobic activity. In order to induce depression during pregnancy and postpartum, pregnant mice from day 5 to 19 of pregnancy were exposed to stress for three sessions a day, and to assess depression levels, the rate of delay in access to food after 24 hours of food deprivation was measured in seconds. Results: moderate and low-intensity aerobic exercise during pregnancy as well as in the postpartum period led to a significant decrease in levels of depression and concentration of interleukin-6 as an inflammatory cytokine in trained mice compared to sedentary mice. Conclusion: As the results of the present study showed, the aerobic activity used was able to reduce the levels of depression and the concentration of inflammatory factor IL-6 during pregnancy and postpartum. Therefore, low-intensity aerobic activity can probably be used as a non-pharmacological intervention during this period to reduce depressive symptoms and improve immune function.