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Voluntary exercise can strengthen the circadian system in aged mice

Lall, Gurprit S. (2013) Voluntary exercise can strengthen the circadian system in aged mice. Voluntary exercise can strengthen the circadian system in aged mice, 35 (6). pp. 2137-2152. ISSN 0161-9152. E-ISSN 1574-4647. (doi:10.1007/s11357-012-9502-y) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:44362)

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11357-012-9502-y

Abstract

Consistent daily rhythms are important to healthy aging according to studies linking disrupted circadian rhythms with negative health impacts. We studied the effects of age and exercise on baseline circadian rhythms and on the circadian system's ability to respond to the perturbation induced by an 8 h advance of the light:dark (LD) cycle as a test of the system's robustness. Mice (male, mPer2(luc)/C57BL/6) were studied at one of two ages: 3.5 months (n = 39) and >18 months (n = 72). We examined activity records of these mice under entrained and shifted conditions as well as mPER2::LUC measures ex vivo to assess circadian function in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) and important target organs. Age was associated with reduced running wheel use, fragmentation of activity, and slowed resetting in both behavioral and molecular measures. Furthermore, we observed that for aged mice, the presence of a running wheel altered the amplitude of the spontaneous firing rate rhythm in the SCN in vitro. Following a shift of the LD cycle, both young and aged mice showed a change in rhythmicity properties of the mPER2::LUC oscillation of the SCN in vitro, and aged mice exhibited longer lasting internal desynchrony. Access to a running wheel alleviated some age-related changes in the circadian system. In an additional experiment, we replicated the effect of the running wheel, comparing behavioral and in vitro results from aged mice housed with or without a running wheel (>21 months, n = 8 per group, all examined 4 days after the shift). The impact of voluntary exercise on circadian rhythm properties in an aged animal is a novel finding and has implications for the health of older people living with environmentally induced circadian disruption.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s11357-012-9502-y
Uncontrolled keywords: Circadian Exercise Wheel Suprachiasmatic nucleus Thymus Esophagus Spleen
Subjects: R Medicine
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Medway School of Pharmacy
Depositing User: Gurprit Lall
Date Deposited: 12 Nov 2014 22:24 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 12:57 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/44362 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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