Brain molecular damage of mice undergoing a long-term moderate treadmill running.

<p>Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS, panel a) levels and protein carbonyl content (PCC, panel b) in cortices of mice undergoing a two- or four-month moderate and regular treadmill-based exercise program (E2 or E4, respectively); age-matched sedentary animals (S2, S4) were used as controls (n = 6 per group). No significant age-dependent change was observed in cortical TBARS concentrations (S4 vs S2), while two months of exercise elevated significantly TBARS amounts (E2 vs S2). Four-month exercised and unexercised mice showed similar TBARS levels (E4 vs S4). The PCC increased in an age-dependent manner (S4 vs S2). Two months of exercise elevated PCC, in comparison to sedentary animals (E2 vs S2). Conversely, PCC content was significantly reduced in four-month-exercised mice, when compared to age-matched unexercised animals (E4 vs S4). Values were given as means ± std. dev. The level of statistical significance was computed by using two-way ANOVA and post-hoc Newman-Keuls test: *** P<0.001; ** P<0.01. Experiments were performed in triplicate.