Effect of Swimming Exercise Training and Advanced Antioxidant Supplementation on the TWEAK/TRAF2/ERK1/Ap-1 Signaling Pathway in Skeletal Muscle of Male Mice with Spinal Cord Injury

Introduction: Spinal cord injury is a neurodegenerative condition that leads to reduced motor function and skeletal muscle atrophy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a period of endurance training and the administration of MitoQ supplementation on the atrophy signaling pathway in the skeletal muscle of male rats with spinal cord injury. Methods: In this study, a total of 40 male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=8 each): 1) sham, 2) spinal cord injury (SCI), 3) spinal cord injury and MitoQ supplementation (250 μM), 4) spinal cord injury and swimming exercise (4 weeks, 5 days a week, 6 sessions of 5 minutes), and 5) spinal cord injury and swimming and MitoQ supplementation. Real-time RT-PCR was utilized to evaluate the variables. For statistical analysis, data were analyzed one-way ANOVA along with Tukey's post hoc test, applying a significance level of p < 0.05, utilizing and with SPSS software 16. Results: After four weeks of swimming training, there was a marked decrease in the expression of TWEAK, TRAF2, and AP-1 genes in the training groups when compared to the spinal cord injury group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, endurance training combined with MitoQ supplementation led to a more significant reduction in the mRNA levels of TWEAK (p = 0.001), TRAF2 (p = 0.001), and AP-1 (p = 0.001) within the skeletal muscle of male rats suffering from spinal cord injury, in contrast to the injury group. Conclusion: The interaction of 4 weeks of swimming training and MitoQ supplementation can effectively prevent the expression of genes involved in the process of skeletal muscle atrophy in mice with spinal cord injury and improve motor function in mice with spinal cord injury.