Fig. 6.

Treadmill exercise attenuates STZ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and the consequent activation of caspase-9/caspase-3 apoptotic pathway. A, B) ELISA analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase activity followed by the total ATP production were performed to examine mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation level. C, D) The activities of pro-apoptotic proteins caspase 3/9 were subsequently analyzed, revealing that the enhanced activations of these pro-apoptotic proteins were inhibited by treadmill exercise. E) Representative confocal images of TUNEL staining revealed aggravated neuron apoptosis following dramatic mitochondrial dysfunction. F) TUNEL-positive cells per 250 μm in each confocal image were counted and expressed in graphic depiction. Values are means ± SE. Scale bar = 20 μm. n = 5 per group. *p < 0.05 versus normal control; ^#p < 0.05 versus STZ group.