Project description:To examine the impact of selective breeding for voluntary wheel running activity on gene expression in the vomeronasal organ (VNO), RNAseq analysis was conducted in the VNO of 4 High Runner and 4 Control lines.
Project description:To examine the evolution of endurance-exercise behaviour, we have selectively bred four replicate lines of laboratory mice (Mus domesticus) for high voluntary wheel running (;high runner' or HR lines), while also maintaining four non-selected control (C) lines. By generation 16, HR mice ran approximately 2.7-fold more than C mice, mainly by running faster (especially in females), a differential maintained through subsequent generations, suggesting an evolutionary limit of unknown origin. We hypothesized that HR mice would have higher glycogen levels before nightly running, show greater depletion of those depots during their more intense wheel running, and have increased glycogen synthase activity and GLUT-4 protein in skeletal muscle. We sampled females from generation 35 at three times (photophase 07:00 h-19:00 h) during days 5-6 of wheel access, as in the routine selection protocol: Group 1, day 5, 16:00 h-17:30 h, wheels blocked from 13:00 h; Group 2, day 6, 02:00 h-03:30 h (immediately after peak running); and Group 3, day 6, 07:00 h-08:30 h. An additional Group 4, sampled 16:00 h-17:30 h, never had wheels. HR individuals with the mini-muscle phenotype (50% reduced hindlimb muscle mass) were distinguished for statistical analyses comparing C, HR normal, and HR mini. HR mini ran more than HR normal, and at higher speeds, which might explain why they have been favored by the selective-breeding protocol. Plasma glucose was higher in Group 1 than in Group 4, indicating a training effect (phenotypic plasticity). Without wheels, no differences in gastrocnemius GLUT-4 were observed. After 5 days with wheels, all mice showed elevated GLUT-4, but HR normal and mini were 2.5-fold higher than C. At all times and irrespective of wheel access, HR mini showed approximately three-fold higher [glycogen] in gastrocnemius and altered glycogen synthase activity. HR mini also showed elevated glycogen in soleus when sampled during peak running. All mice showed some glycogen depletion during nightly wheel running, in muscles and/or liver, but the magnitude of this depletion was not large and hence does not seem to be limiting to the evolution of even-higher wheel running.
Project description:The endocannabinoid system serves many physiological roles, including in the regulation of energy balance, food reward, and voluntary locomotion. Signaling at the cannabinoid type 1 receptor has been specifically implicated in motivation for rodent voluntary exercise on wheels. We studied four replicate lines of high runner (HR) mice that have been selectively bred for 81 generations based on average number of wheel revolutions on days five and six of a six-day period of wheel access. Four additional replicate lines are bred without regard to wheel running, and serve as controls (C) for random genetic effects that may cause divergence among lines. On average, mice from HR lines voluntarily run on wheels three times more than C mice on a daily basis. We tested the general hypothesis that circulating levels of endocannabinoids (i.e., 2-arachidonoylglycerol [2-AG] and anandamide [AEA]) differ between HR and C mice in a sex-specific manner. Fifty male and 50 female mice were allowed access to wheels for six days, while another 50 males and 50 females were kept without access to wheels (half HR, half C for all groups). Blood was collected by cardiac puncture during the time of peak running on the sixth night of wheel access or no wheel access, and later analyzed for 2-AG and AEA content by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. We observed a significant three-way interaction among sex, linetype, and wheel access for 2-AG concentrations, with females generally having lower levels than males and wheel access lowering 2-AG levels in some but not all subgroups. The number of wheel revolutions in the minutes or hours immediately prior to sampling did not quantitatively predict plasma 2-AG levels within groups. We also observed a trend for a linetype-by-wheel access interaction for AEA levels, with wheel access lowering plasma concentrations of AEA in HR mice, while raising them in C mice. In addition, females tended to have higher AEA concentrations than males. For mice housed with wheels, the amount of running during the 30min before sampling was a significant positive predictor of plasma AEA within groups, and HR mice had significantly lower levels of AEA than C mice. Our results suggest that voluntary exercise alters circulating levels of endocannabinoids, and further demonstrate that selective breeding for voluntary exercise is associated with evolutionary changes in the endocannabinoid system.
Project description:We have previously shown that high runner (HR) mice (from a line genetically selected for increased wheel-running behavior) have distinct, genetically based, neurobiological phenotypes as compared with non-selected control (C) mice. However, developmental programming effects during early life, including maternal care and parent-of-origin-dependent expression of imprinted genes, can also contribute to variation in physical activity. Here, we used cross-fostering to address two questions. First, do HR mice have altered DNA methylation profiles of imprinted genes in the brain compared to C mice? Second, does maternal upbringing further modify the DNA methylation status of these imprinted genes? To address these questions, we cross-fostered all offspring at birth to create four experimental groups: C pups to other C dams, HR pups to other HR dams, C pups to HR dams, and HR pups to C dams. Bisulfite sequencing of 16 imprinted genes in the cortex and hippocampus revealed that the HR line had altered DNA methylation patterns of the paternally imprinted genes, Rasgrf1 and Zdbf2, as compared with the C line. Both fostering between the HR and C lines and sex modified the DNA methylation profiles for the paternally expressed genes Mest, Peg3, Igf2, Snrpn, and Impact. Ig-DMR, a gene with multiple paternal and maternal imprinted clusters, was also affected by maternal upbringing and sex. Our results suggest that differential methylation patterns of imprinted genes in the brain could contribute to evolutionary increases in wheel-running behavior and are also dependent on maternal upbringing and sex.
Project description:Exercise is known to exert a systemic anti-inflammatory influence, but whether its effects are sufficient to protect against subsequent neuropathic pain is underinvestigated. We report that 6 weeks of voluntary wheel running terminating before chronic constriction injury (CCI) prevented the full development of allodynia for the ?3-month duration of the injury. Neuroimmune signaling was assessed at 3 and 14 days after CCI. Prior exercise normalized ipsilateral dorsal spinal cord expression of neuroexcitatory interleukin (IL)-1? production and the attendant glutamate transporter GLT-1 decrease, as well as expression of the disinhibitory P2X4R-BDNF axis. The expression of the macrophage marker Iba1 and the chemokine CCL2 (MCP-1), and a neuronal injury marker (activating transcription factor 3), was attenuated by prior running in the ipsilateral lumbar dorsal root ganglia. Prior exercise suppressed macrophage infiltration and/or injury site proliferation, given decreased presence of macrophage markers Iba1, iNOS (M1), and Arg-1 (M2; expression was time dependent). Chronic constriction injury-driven increases in serum proinflammatory chemokines were suppressed by prior running, whereas IL-10 was increased. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were also stimulated with lipopolysaccharide ex vivo, wherein CCI-induced increases in IL-1?, nitrite, and IL-10 were suppressed by prior exercise. Last, unrestricted voluntary wheel running, beginning either the day of, or 2 weeks after, CCI, progressively reversed neuropathic pain. This study is the first to investigate the behavioral and neuroimmune consequences of regular exercise terminating before nerve injury. This study suggests that chronic pain should be considered a component of "the diseasome of physical inactivity," and that an active lifestyle may prevent neuropathic pain.
Project description:Mouse lines selectively bred for high voluntary wheel-running behavior are helpful models for uncovering gene networks associated with increased motivation for physical activity and other reward-dependent behaviors. The fact that multiple brain regions are hypothesized to contribute to distinct behavior components necessitates the simultaneous study of these regions. The goals of this study were to identify brain-region dependent and independent gene expression patterns, regulators, and networks associated with increased voluntary wheel-running behavior. The cerebellum and striatum from a high voluntary running line and a non-selected control line were compared. Neuropeptide genes annotated to reward-dependent processes including neuropeptide S receptor 1 (Npsr1), neuropeptide Y (Npy), and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (Pcsk9), and genes implicated in motor coordination including vitamin D receptor (Vdr) and keratin, type I cytoskeletal 25 (Krt25) were among the genes exhibiting activity line-by-region interaction effects. Genes annotated to the Parkinson pathway presented consistent line patterns, albeit at different orders of magnitude between brain regions, suggesting some parallel events in response to selection for high voluntary activity. The comparison of gene networks between brain regions highlighted genes including transcription factor AP-2-delta (Tfap2d), distal-less homeobox 5 gene (Dlx5) and sine oculis homeobox homolog 3 (Six3) that exhibited line differential expression in one brain region and are associated with reward-dependent behaviors. Transcription factors including En2, Stat6 and Eomes predominated among regulators of genes that differed in expression between lines. Results from the simultaneous study of striatum and cerebellum confirm the necessity to study molecular mechanisms associated with voluntary activity and reward-dependent behaviors in consideration of brain region dependencies.
Project description:Exercise can prevent and improve the pathophysiology of diseases and promote healthy aging. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that regulate the beneficial effects of exercise may lead to the development of new strategies to enhance quality of life and to counteract chronic diseases. Voluntary wheel running is an interesting model to study the effects of exercise in mice. Compared to forced treadmill exercise, voluntary wheel running presents several advantages such as: 1) running pattern is similar to natural running behavior of mice; 2) it is performed under non-stressed conditions, according to the rhythmicity of the animal; 3) it does not require direct interference from the researcher, and can be easily applied in long-term studies. Mice run spontaneously when given access to running wheels, for a total distance of ?4 to 20 km per day and a total activity time of ?3 to 7 hours a day. Hence, voluntary wheel running can result in robust endurance-like adaptation in skeletal and cardiac muscles and protect from sarcopenia. However, due to the lack of control over exercise parameters in voluntary exercise models, it is important for the researcher to understand the patterns and variability of wheel running in mice, as well as the factors that can affect voluntary running activity. Overall, voluntary wheel running in mice is a very interesting approach to study the chronic adaptation to exercise, analyze the effects of exercise, and test exercise capacity in different experimental models.
Project description:Maternal overnutrition can dramatically increase the susceptibility of offspring to metabolic diseases, whereas maternal exercise may improve glucose metabolism in offspring. However, the underlying mechanism programming the intergenerational effects of maternal exercise on the benefits of glucose metabolism has not been fully elaborated. C57BL/6 female mice were randomly assigned to four subgroups according to a diet and exercise paradigm before and during pregnancy as follows: NC (fed with normal chow diet and sedentary), NCEx (fed with normal chow diet and running), HF (fed with high-fat diet and sedentary), and HFEx (fed with high-fat diet and running). Integrative 16S rDNA sequencing and mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling were synchronously performed to characterize the effects of maternal exercise on the gut microbiota composition and metabolite alterations in offspring. Maternal exercise, acting as a natural pharmaceutical intervention, prevented deleterious effects on glucose metabolism in offspring. 16S rDNA sequencing revealed remarkable changes in the gut microbiota composition in offspring. Metabolic profiling indicated multiple altered metabolites, which were enriched in butanoate metabolism signaling in offspring. We further found that maternal exercise could mediate gene expression related to intestinal gluconeogenesis in offspring. In conclusion, our study indicated that maternal running significantly improved glucose metabolism in offspring and counteracted the detrimental effects of maternal high-fat feeding before and during pregnancy. We further demonstrated that maternal voluntary wheel running could integratively program the gut microbiota composition and fecal metabolite changes and then regulate butanoate metabolism and mediate intestinal gluconeogenesis in offspring.
Project description:The goals of this study were: 1) to compare the cerebellum transcriptome and associated networks of one of the High Runner mouse lines relative to mice from a control line and, 2) to evaluate the modulation of potential transcriptome differences between genotypes by the environmental opportunity for physical activity.
Project description:Normal aging alters expression of numerous genes within the brain. Some of these transcription changes likely contribute to age-associated cognitive decline, reduced neural plasticity, and the higher incidence of neuropathology. Identifying factors that modulate brain aging is crucial for improving quality of life. One promising intervention to counteract negative effects of aging is aerobic exercise. Aged subjects that exercise show enhanced cognitive performance and increased hippocampal neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity. Currently, the mechanisms behind the anti-aging effects of exercise are not understood. The present study conducted a microarray on whole hippocampal samples from adult (3.5-month-old) and aged (18-month-old) male BALB/c mice that were individually housed with or without running wheels for 8 weeks. Results showed that aging altered genes related to chromatin remodeling, cell growth, immune activity, and synapse organization compared to adult mice. Exercise was found to modulate many of the genes altered by aging, but in the opposite direction. For example, wheel running increased expression of genes related to cell growth and attenuated expression of genes involved in immune function and chromatin remodeling. Collectively, findings show that even late-onset exercise may attenuate age-related changes in gene expression and identifies possible pathways through which exercise may exert its beneficial effects.