Effect of Two Types of Aerobic Exercise Programs on NT4 Gene Expression and Motor Performance in Spinally Injured Rats

Introduction: The present research aimed to investigate the effect of four weeks of selective training on motor performance and neurotrophin4 (NT4) gene expression in the hippocampus of rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). Method: This experimental study was conducted on adult and young male Wistar rats. The animals were randomly divided into six groups (control group, healthy group with the first exercise protocol, healthy group with the second exercise protocol, SCI group, SCI group with the first exercise protocol, and SCI group with the second exercise protocol; 7 animals in each group). Firstly, animals were subjected to general anesthesia and SCI. After two weeks of recovery, two types of aerobic exercise programs were performed for four weeks. After performing the exercises, Basso Beattie Bresnahan (BBB) test and molecular tests were used to measure the expression of the NT4 gene from the hippocampus of the animals using the qRT-PCR method. Results: The BBB score in the exercise group compared to the injury group increased significantly. The expression of NT4 in the SCI group was significantly decreased compared to the control group. While, NT4 expression was increased in the SCI + exercise 1 group and in the SCI + exercise 2 group compared to the SCI group, this increased expression was not significantly different between the two groups of SCI + exercise. Conclusion: The exercise protocols of this study are effective on NT4 gene expression, as well as improving movement in animals with SCI, and could be a factor for axonal growth and neuronal survival in spinal cord injury recovery.