Turkish Neurosurgery 2016 , Vol 26 , Num 1
Protective Effect of Ad-VEGF-Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Cerebral Infarction
Bo CHEN1, Feng ZHANG2, Qiao-Yu LI3, Aihua GONG4, Qing LAN1
1The Second Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Department of Neurosurgery, Soochow, China
2The 101 Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Department of Neurosurgery, Wuxi, China
3The First People’s Hospital of Zhenjiang, Department of Neurosurgery, Zhenjiang, China
4Jiangsu University, School of Clinical Medicine, Zhenjiang, China
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.11488-14.3 AIM: To understand the mechanism of intracerebroventricular transplantation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) genemodified bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in rats after cerebral infarction.

MATERIAL and METHODS: The middle cerebral artery occlusion ischemia/reperfusion (MCAO I/R) model was established in rats using the Zea-Longa suture method. A recombinant adenovirus (Ad-VEGF) was engineered to express VEGF. The rats were divided into 3 groups. Control BMSC infected with control adenovirus (BMSC-Ad), BMSC infected by Ad-VEGF (BMSC-Ad-VEGF), and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) suspension were injected into the intracerebroventricular system of the rats in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively, 24 hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The neurological function of rats was evaluated with the modified Neurological Severity Scores (mNSS). The infarct volume of brain in rats was determined using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) stain at 14 days. GFAP and pGSK3β expression of ischemic penumbra was determined using immunohistochemical method. GFAP, pAKT, AKT, and pGSK3β expressions were determined with Western blot.

RESULTS: Functional improvement was accelerated in animals receiving BMSC-Ad, while improvement at all times between 7 days and 28 days post MCAO was significantly greater in animals transplanted with BMSC-Ad-VEGF than for other treated animals. The number of GFAP-labeled cells was prevented by post-ischemic BMSC-Ad-VEGF treatment; pMCAO activate the PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway to reduce reactive gliosis.

CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway could reduce reactive gliosis, ameliorate neurological deficit, diminish the percentage of cerebral infarction volume in rats, and facilitate angiogenesis. Keywords : Bone mesenchymal stem cell, Vascular endothelial growth factor, Ischemic stroke, Intracerebroventricular injection, Phosphoinositide-3-kinase/Akt /glycogen synthase kinase-3 β pathway

Corresponding author : Qing Lan, Lanqing1977@163.com