Figure 4.

Association of tissue beta hydroxy butyrate and branched-chain amino acids with BDNF-Akt-mTOR-FOXO1 signaling in the prefrontal cortex of fasted rats undergoing mild endurance exercise. (A): Mass Spectrometry analysis of prefrontal cortex levels of BHB, Leu, Ile, and Val; (B): Western immunoblot analysis of prefrontal cortex proteins involved in BDNF-mTOR signaling, with quantified data shown below. (A,B): Analysis was carried out comparing control rats with rats subjected to exercise, fasting, or fasting with exercise. (N = 4, n = 3). One way ANOVA was carried out followed by a Newman Keuls post-hoc test. * p < 0.05 vs. C, † p < 0.05 vs. C and F, ‡ p < 0.05 vs. C, F and FE. § p < 0.05 vs. E, F and FE. Abbreviations: N: biological replications, n: technical replications. Data are shown as means ± SEM.