Effects of Voluntary Wheel Running Exercise Preconditioning on miR-214/PTEN Signal Circuit Pathway of Colon in Experimental Ulcerative Colitis Mice

Objective:To observe the effects of 8-weeks voluntary wheel running exercise preconditioning on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) -induced experimental ulcerative colitis (UC) of C57 BL/6 mouse and investigate the possible mechanism of miR-214/PTEN signal circuit pathway in the pathological process. Methods:Forty male C57 BL/6 mice were divided into four groups:sedentary control group (SED-CON) , sedentary DSS group (SED-DSS) , exercise control group (EXE-CON) and exercise DSS group (EXE-DSS) . Animals of SED-CON and SED-DSS groups maintained resting state while those of EXE-CON and EXE-DSS groups conducted voluntary wheel running exercise preconditioning lasting for 8 weeks. UC model was induced by 3.5% DSS solution in modeling groups and equivalent distilled water was given to control groups. Body weight and disease activity index (DAI) were recorded daily. Seven days later the animals were sacrificed for histopathological examination of the colon and tissue damage score, and gene expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, miR-214, PTEN, STAT3, Akt as well as NF-κB activity were determined. Results:Compared with SED-DSS group, mice of EXE-DSS group exhibited improved clinical symptoms (body weight increased, DAI decreased, pro-inflammatory factors expression downregulated and tissue damage of colon reduced) . Molecular biology study revealed that, compared with SED-DSS group, miR-214, as well as Akt, STAT3, IL-6 expression and NF-κB activity reduced while PTEN m RNA and protein expression level raised in EXE-DSS group (P< 0.05) . Conclusion:Long-term voluntary wheel running exercise preconditioning protected against DSS-induced experimental UC of C57 BL/6 mouse, and the possible mechanism may be related with partial restoration of miR-214/PTEN signal circuit pathwayc function.