Aerobic exercise significantly alters <i>Notch1</i> signaling in a neurotoxic hippocampal rat model of Alzheimer's disease

BackgroundAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and a major cause of dementia.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic training on the expression changes of <i>Notch1</i>, <i>Rbpjk</i>, <i>Hes1</i>, and <i>Hey1</i>genes in the hippocampus of Alzheimer rats.MethodsForty, 8-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control (n = 10), exercise (n = 10), AD (n = 10), AD + exercise (n = 10). Endurance training was implemented with increasing intensity starting at 15 m/min in the first week and progressing to speeds of 16-20 m/min over the next five weeks with increased durations each week. After 6 weeks, animals were euthanized and hippocampus was collected, frozen and RNA was isolated to quantify <i>Notch1</i>, <i>Rbpjk</i>, <i>Hes1</i>, and <i>Hey1</i> expression. All statistical analyses and graphs were conducted using SPSS and visualized using GraphPad Prism, with significance set at p < 0.05.ResultsOne-way analysis of variance with Tukey's post-hoc analysis found that the Alz group had significantly lower expression of <i>Notch1</i> with increased expression of <i>Rbpjk</i> and <i>Hes1</i>. Conversely, the AD + Ex group was observed to have significantly higher <i>Notch1</i> and significantly lower <i>Rbpjk</i> compared to the AD group.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that exercise may serve as a complementary neuroprotective intervention via manipulation of <i>Notch1</i> signaling. Overall, the study highlights the need for further research on the relationship between physical activity and gene expression in the context of AD.