Berberine Supplement and Resistance Training May Ameliorate Diazinon Induced Neural Toxicity in Rat Hippocampus Via the Activation of the TrkB and ERK Signaling Pathway

Background: Diazinon is an organophosphate pesticide that is broadly applied to control insectswhich causes oxidative damages in hippocampus tissue. We aimed to examine whether resistancetraining and berberine supplementation can protect the hippocampus against berberine-inducedneural toxicity.Methods: Fifty-six male Wistar rats were assigned randomly into eight groups of seven including:Control (Ctrl), Sham (normal saline), T1 (diazinon + berberine chloride (2 mg/kg) + resistancetraining), T2 (diazinon + berberine chloride [15 mg/kg] + resistance training), T3 (diazinon), T4(diazinon +resistance training), T5 (diazinon + berberine chloride [2 mg/kg]), and T6 (diazinon+ berberine chloride [15 mg/kg]). In the experimental groups, diazinon was intraperitoneallyadministered at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg. In the training groups, rats were trained every three days for sixweeks and 8-12 dynamic movements (repetitions) during each climb (six climbs for two sets). Theexpression of hippocampus PI3K and CDK genes and TrkB and ERK protein levels were evaluated inthe brain of diazinon-treated rats.Results: The protein expression of ERK and TrkB were increased following the treatment of diazinonintoxicated rats with berberine and resistance training (P=0.001). The administration of berberineat a dose of 15 mg/kg in combination with resistance training significantly (P=0.001) decreasedthe cell death rate in the hippocampus. Diazinon treatment caused extensive apoptosis in thehippocampus region of the rats’ brain (P=0.001). The gene expression of PI3K and CDK wassignificantly increased and the cell death rate significantly decreased (P=0.001) in the hippocampusfollowing the treatment of rats with berberine and resistance training.Conclusion: Six weeks of resistance training in combination with berberine treatment significantlyreduced apoptosis in the hippocampus region of diazinon-intoxicated rats. It seems theneuroprotection effects of berberine and resistance training are mediated by the stimulation of theexpression of enzymes responsible for the antioxidant defense within neuronal cell