Exercise Preconditioning Protects against Spinal Cord Injury in Rats by Upregulating Neuronal and Astroglial Heat Shock Protein 72

This study investigates how exercise before a spinal cord injury (SCI) affects recovery in rats. It focuses on a protein called heat shock protein 72 (HSP 72), which is known to protect cells from stress. The study found that rats who exercised before SCI had higher levels of HSP 72 in their spinal cords and better functional recovery. To confirm the role of HSP 72, the researchers used a technique to reduce HSP 72 levels in the spinal cords of some rats. They found that reducing HSP 72 blocked the beneficial effects of exercise, leading to worse outcomes after SCI. This suggests that HSP 72 is crucial for the protective effects of exercise. The study concludes that exercise preconditioning, which increases HSP 72 levels, can be a promising strategy to help people recover from SCI. By understanding how exercise and HSP 72 work together, scientists may be able to develop new treatments to improve recovery after spinal cord injuries.

• 1
  Exercised rats with spinal cord injury (SCI) had significantly higher levels of neuronal and astroglial HSP 72 compared to non-exercised rats with SCI.
• 2
  Rats that underwent exercise preconditioning (EP) before SCI exhibited a lower functional deficit, fewer spinal cord contusions, and fewer apoptotic cells compared to those without EP.
• 3
  Reducing neuronal and astroglial HSP 72 levels using siRNA-HSP 72 attenuated the beneficial effects of exercise preconditioning in reducing functional deficits, spinal cord contusion, and apoptosis.