Gene expression of nerve cell proliferation associated factors following cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats

Objective To study the gene expressions of Nestin, stem cell factor (SCF) and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) in neurons after ischemia-reperfusion Injury in rat brain. Methods Thirty-six adult female rats were induced by intraluminal middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion, and divided into ischemia 1.5 h group and reperfusion 2h-,6h-,12h,1d-,2d-,3d-,7d-,14d-groups and sham-operated group (n=4), with a nylon monofilament suture. In situ hybridization was used to examine the expression of Nestin, SCF and NCAM mRNA. Results There were basic expression of Nestin, SCF and NCAM mRNA in brain tissue of sham-opera ted group. Nestin mRNA expression in cortex and striatum increased markedly in ischemic hemisphere compared with sham-operated group except reperfusion 2h in cortex and 2 h, 6h in striatum. SCF mRNA expression in cortex and striatum increased significantly in ischemic hemisphere compared with sham-operated group except reperfusion 2h,6h,12h in cortex and 2h,6h in striatum. NCAM mRNA expression was observed after reperfusion 2h, peaked at 12h and 1d in cortex and striatum, respectively, and decreased to the basic level of sham-operated group at 14d. Conclusion The results indicate that SCF expression might enhance neural stem cell proliferation following ischemia reperfusion. The increasing NCAM expression might play an important role in the neural repair of injured brain tissues