The Effect of 6 Weeks of High Intensity Interval Training on the Gene Expression and Content of KIF5B and Dynein Proteins in Hippocampus of Male Wistar Rats

Cytoplasmic transport is a vital process in the CNS that improves neuronal survival. KIF5B and Dynein are motor proteins involved in cytoplasmic transport which play an important role in the anterograde/retrograde transport. However, the effect of training especially high intensity interval training (HIIT) is less clear on the expression of these proteins. The present study examined the effect of HIIT on the gene expression and the amount of KIF5B and Dynein proteins in the hippocampal tissue of Wistar male rats. 14 rats were divided into 2 groups: (1) the training (TG: n=7) and (2) the control (CG: n=7). Training program was carried out on a treadmill for 6 weeks, 5 sessions per week. The protein contents of KIF5B and Dynein were determined by the immunohistochemical analysis. Moreover, the Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (Real-Time PCR) procedure was used to measure mRNA expression of the variables. The findings showed that 6 weeks of HIIT significantly decreased the gene expression of KIF5B and Dynein (P=0.001 and P=0.001 or percentage of changes= -0.72 respectively). Also, HIIT significantly decreased KIF5B (P=0.001) and Dynein (P=0.004) protein content after 6 weeks of HIIT. These findings demonstrated that HIIT was associated with the down-regulation of gene expression and protein content of KIF5B and Dynein in the hippocampal tissue although the underlying mechanisms have remained unknown. These changes show that HIIT may have negative effects on anterograde/retrograde cytoplasmic transport because the cytoplasmic transport is mediated by KIF5B and Dynein.