Treadmill Exercise Alters Histone Acetyltransferases and Histone Deacetylases Activities in Frontal Cortices from Wistar Rats

Studies have pointed out the relationship between neuroprotective exercise effects and epigenetic mechanisms on the hippocampus. Considering the role of frontal cortex on brain functions, we investigated the impact of different exercise protocols on enzymatic system involved with histone acetylation status, histone acetyltransferases (HATs), and histone desacetylases (HDACs) in frontal cortices from Wistar rats. Male Wistar rats aged 3 months were submitted to a single session or a daily running protocol during 2 weeks. The single session enhanced HAT activity, while the moderate daily exercise protocol reduced the HDAC activity. Our results indicate that frontal cortex is susceptible to epigenetic modulation following exercise and that both exercise protocols seem to induce a histone hyperacetylation condition in this brain area.