The Morphological Changes in the Capillary Architecture of the Tibial Nerve
Associated with Spontaneous Aging and Aerobic Exercise Intervention during Aging in
Rats |
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| Authors: | Masahiro Sakita Shinichiro Murakami Hidemi Fujino |
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| Affiliation: | 1) Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyoto Tachibana University, Japan;2) Department of Physical Therapy, Himeji Dokkyo University, Japan;3) Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Japan |
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| Abstract: | [Purpose] Peripheral nerve degradation associated with aging is linked to failure ofinteractions in capillary metabolism. The aim of this study was to morphologicallyinvestigate the age-related changes in the capillary architecture of the tibial nerve inspontaneous aging and with aerobic exercise intervention in rats. [Subjects] MaleSprague-Dawley rats (n=15) were used in the present study. [Methods] The rats were dividedinto control (Cont, n=5), elderly (Elder, n=5), and elderly with aerobic exercise(Elder+Ex, n=5) groups. Aerobic training of low intensity was performed for 10 weeks usinga treadmill starting at 96 weeks of age by the Elder+Ex group. The capillary diameter,cross-sectional area and number of microvascular ramifications in the tibial nerve werecompared among the Cont (20-week-old), Elder (106-week-old) and Elder+Ex groups usingthree-dimensional images gained from confocal laser scanning microscopy. [Results] Thecapillary diameter, cross-sectional area and number of microvascular ramifications in theElder group were significantly smaller than those observed in the Cont and Elder+Exgroups. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that the capillaries in the peripheral nervedegrade with spontaneous aging and that aerobic exercise of low intensity promotesangiogenesis, and protects the capillary from oxidative stress.Key words: Capillary, Tibial nerve, Three-dimensional image |
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