Reelin and Regular Exercise in the Brain Cortex of Healthy Adult Rats

Reelin is a large secreted protein to extracellular matrix of neurons in the brain cortex which has important roles in plasticity and memory. Exercise has positive effects on selective aspects of brain function. Some types of exercise via increasing long-term potentiation, neurogenesis and plasticity improve cognitive function and spatial memory. Several molecular systems could potentially participate in the effects of exercise on the brain. This article examines the effects of forced exercise in molecular, cellular level on Reelin protein concentration in the brain cortex and subsequently the effect of this type of exercise on behavioral levels. For this purpose, rats were randomly divided into two groups; Test group that treated with 60 days of forced exercise and control group without any training program. After training period, trained and sedentary rats were tested with Morris water maze task. After termination of test days, rats were deeply anesthetized and killed with rapid decapitation. Then brain cortex was immediately removed and Reelin protein levels in the brain cortex were measured by ELISA assay. Results showed that forced exercise could not change both of Reelin protein levels and spatial memory significantly in the brain cortex of adult rats. Present study suggested that exercise has not effect on Reelin protein levels in the brain cortex and memory similarly.