Inhibition of caspase-12 expression by NGF in rabbit cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Objective To observe the effect of NGF on the caspase-12 in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. MethodsTwenty-six healthy male white rabbits were randomly divided into sham, ischemia/reperfusion and NGF group. The tissues were sampled to detect the expression of caspase-12, caspase-3 by immunohistochemistry, and to detect the cerebral apoptosis by flow cytometry and TUNEL staining methods.Results Compared with sham group, the expression of caspase-12 and caspase-3 in I/R group was higher (P0.01); the apoptotic cells detected by FCM and TUNEL methods were significantly increased; NGF relieve the increase of caspase-12, caspase-3 and the number of the apoptotic cells (P0.01),but they were still higher than that of sham group. Conclusion It is a protective mechanism of NGF by inhibiting the caspase cascade reaction induced by caspase-12.