AEROBIC EXERCISE TRAINING REDUCES MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION AND RELEASE OF TNFα IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS OF SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) have autonomic imbalance and blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction, such conditions that are restored by physical training (Front Physiol. 14:1069485, 2023). Experimental evidence has shown that microglia cells, although they are not part of the structure of the BBB, they modulate the function of the barrier through the synthesis of cytokines. This effect is evidenced in hypertension, as microglia are activated, releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines capable to alter different BBB constituents, such as Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNFα).