Search

Abstract: Peripheral vasculature resistance can play an important role in affecting blood pressure and the development of cardiovascular disease. A better understanding of the genes that encode vasodilators, such as adenosine, will provide insight into the mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease. We tested whether the adenosine monophosphate deaminase-1 (AMPD1) C34T gene polymorphism was associated with the vasodilatory response to ischemia in Caucasian females aged 18–35 years. Blood samples (n =58) were analyzed for the C34T variant and resulted in the following genotype groups: CC (n =45) and CT (n =13). Mean blood pressure (MBP), heart rate, and forearm blood flow (FBF) measured by venous occlusion plethysmography were measured at baseline and at 1 (peak FBF), 2 and 3 min of vasodilation during reactive hyperemia following 5 min of arm ischemia. To control for interindividual variability in baseline FBF and forearm vascular resistance (FVR) the percent change in FBF and FVR were calculated for each min. The percent decrease in FVR was significantly greater in the CT compared to the CC genotype group (−40±4% vs. −24±3%, P =0.01) during the 2nd min of reactive hyperemia. The percent increase in FBF tended to be greater in the CT compared to the CC genotype group (+69±9% vs. +42±9%, P =0.07) during the 2nd min of reactive hyperemia after adjustment for percent body fat. Consistent with previous findings of increased production of adenosine during exercise in individuals carrying a T allele, our findings suggest that the AMPD1 C34T polymorphism is associated with vasodilatory response to ischemia in the peripheral vasculature because individuals with the T allele had a greater vasodilatory response to ischemia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The beneficial effects of physical activity on brain health (synaptogenesis, neurogenesis, enhanced synaptic plasticity, improved learning and memory) appear to be mediated through changes in region-specific expression of neurotrophins, transcription factors, and postsynaptic receptors, though investigations of sex differences in response to long-term voluntary wheel running are limited. Purpose To examine the effect of five months of voluntary wheel running on hippocampal mRNA and protein expression of factors critical for exercise-induced structural and functional plasticity in male and female adult mice. Methods At 8 weeks of age, male and female C57BL/6 mice were individually housed with (PA; n = 20; 10 male) or without (SED; n = 20; 10 male) access to a computer monitored voluntary running wheel. At 28 weeks, all mice were sacrificed and hippocampi removed. Total RNA was isolated from the hippocampus and expression of total Bdnf , Bdnf transcript IV, tPA , Pgc-1a , GluR1 , NR2A , and NR2B were assessed with quantitative RT-PCR and total and mature Bdnf protein were assessed with ELISA. Results We found significantly higher Bdnf IV mRNA expression in PA males (p = 0.03) and females (p = 0.03) compared to SED animals. Total Bdnf mRNA expression was significantly greater in PA males compared to SED males (p = 0.01), but there was no difference in females. Similarly, we observed significantly higher mature Bdnf protein in PA males compared to SED males (p = 0.04), but not in females. Conclusion These findings indicate that the impact of long-term voluntary wheel running on transcriptional and post-translational regulation of Bdnf may be sex-dependent, though the activity-dependent Bdnf IV transcript is sensitive to exercise independent of sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]