Moderate-intensity exercise improved memory performance and gait stability in VCI rats, associated with enhanced Sema3G signaling and a supportive environment for neurovascular repair.
Does moderate-intensity treadmill training improve cognitive and gait functions and alter neurovascular unit adaptations in rats with vascular cognitive impairment?
Moderate-intensity exercise improves cognitive and motor function in a rat model of vascular cognitive impairment, potentially mediated by the Sema3G/Nrp2/PlexinA4 signaling axis and neurovascular unit adaptations.
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Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is a neurological disorder in which chronic cerebral hypoperfusion is one of the common causes, often leading to cognitive and motor dysfunction. Moderate-intensity exercise is a non-pharmacological intervention that promotes long-term, sustainable, and low-risk brain health restoration. However, the multidimensional functional effects and underlying mechanisms of such training remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to explore how moderate-intensity training relates to improvements in cognitive and gait functions in VCI, with a focus on neurovascular unit (NVU)-related processes and the potential involvement of vasculogenic Sema3G signaling within the hippocampus. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCAO) surgery to induce VCI, followed by four weeks of moderate-intensity treadmill training in the exercise group. Moderate-intensity training effectively improved memory performance and gait stability in VCI rats. Exercise also corresponded with increased hippocampal Sema3G expression and higher levels of its related intercellular signaling components (Nrp2/PlexinA4). At the neuronal level, exercise was associated with enhanced synaptic marker expression and elevated hippocampal neuronal firing. In terms of immune modulation, exercise shifted microglial phenotypes toward an anti-inflammatory profile, suggesting a more supportive environment for neurovascular repair. Collectively, these findings indicate that moderate-intensity training may influence multiple NVU components, and that the Sema3G/Nrp2/PlexinA4 signaling axis could be one pathway contributing to the observed cognitive and motor benefits in VCI rats. Moderate-intensity exercise may therefore represent a promising approach for mitigating cognitive and motor decline associated with cerebral hypoperfusion.
Dong et al. (Thu,) reported a other. Moderate-intensity exercise improved memory performance and gait stability in VCI rats, associated with enhanced Sema3G signaling and a supportive environment for neurovascular repair.