Background: In the hippocampus, AKT, IGF-1, and PI3K signaling play a role in regulating several important cellular processes, including apoptosis, survival, proliferation, and metabolism. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of six weeks of voluntary swimming activity on the protein content of AKT, IGF-1, and PI3K in the hippocampal tissue of rats with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Materials and Methods: In the present experimental study, 21 male Wistar rats were divided into three groups (n=7): 1- Patient control, 2- Healthy control, and 3- Patient training. Patient groups were induced with the addition of cuprizone to their diet for six weeks. Six weeks of swimming training were performed for training group. Forty-eight hours after the last training session, hippocampal tissue was isolated to examine the changes in AKT, IGF-1 and PI3K proteins. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test with a significance level of 0.05 were used to analyze the data.
Results: Although MS induction decreased the protein content of AKT, IGF-1, and PI3K (P=0.001), after six weeks of swimming training, the content of these proteins in the training group significantly increased compared to the patient control group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Voluntary swimming exercise has a modulating effect on the changes in proteins involved in the hippocampal apoptosis process in rats with MS and may possibly promote the survival of hippocampal cells.