Evaluation of aerobic exercise effects on cognition of neuronal-PTEN deleted mice

• Grant number: 17/20938-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2018
• End date: February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Biochemical and Molecular Pharmacology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Elisa Mitiko Kawamoto Iwashe
• Grantee: Amanda Midori Matumoto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this project is to study the altered signaling pathway of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10), related to some pathologies of the central nervous system (CNS), such as the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), among others. The attention on ASD has been growing as more research is being made about it, demanding data gathering for improvement attempts of the current treatments and therapies, as much for pharmacological approaches as for behavioral ones, including physical exercise.Initially, the main point of study about PTEN was about its tumour suppressor function, however, other processes have been related to it, such as cellular proliferation, survival, growth and migration and the synaptic plasticity modulation function in the hippocampus, among other structures. Environmental interventions, including aerobic exercise, have been related to a positive impact on cognition, memory and learning processes through synaptic plasticity modulation.In this sense, it is possible to evaluate the effects of aerobic exercise on the cognition, memory and learning processes by using time- and tissue-specific conditional PTEN muted mice. Therefore, the results of this project could contribute to a better understanding of the use of aerobic exercise as a potential strategy for intervention and/or treatment of ASD and other CNS disorders. (AU)