Huntington's disease is a chronic
neurodegenerative disorder inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, and characterized as
involuntary movement.
Quinolinic acid has been used to produce an animal model of
Huntington's disease. In the present study, the effect of treadmill exercise on spatial-learning ability and motor coordination focusing on the apoptosis in the hippocampus was investigated using
quinolinic acid-induced
Huntington's disease rats.
Huntington's disease was induced by unilateral intrastriatal injection of
quinolinic acid (2 μL of 100 nmol) using stereotaxic instrument. The rats in the treadmill exercise groups were subjected to run on a treadmill for 30 min once a day during 14 days. Spatial learning ability and motor coordination were determined by radial 8-arm maze test and rota-rod test. Immunohistochemistry for
caspase-3 and western blot for Bax and Bcl-2 were also conducted for the detection of apoptosis. In the present results, spatial learning ability and motor coordination were deteriorated by intrastriatal injection of
quinolinic acid. In contrast, treadmill exercise exerted ameliorating effect on
quinolinic acid-induced deterioration of spatial learning ability and motor coordination. Bcl-2 expression in the hippocampus was de-creased and expressions of casepase-3 and Bax in the hippocampus were increased in the
quinolinic acid-induced
Huntington's disease rats. Treadmill exercise increased Bcl-2 expression and decreased expressions of casepase-3 and Bax in the
Huntington's disease rats. The present results showed that treadmill exercise might ameliorate
quinolinic acid-induced loss of spatial learning ability and motor coordination by suppressing apoptosis in the hippocampus.