Effect of Qingre Huayu Prescription on the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA and protein in rats after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion

Objective: To observe the mRNA and protein levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) in rats after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) and effect of Qingre Huayu Prescription(QRHYP) on them.Methods: The I/R rat models were established by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) method to observe the expression variation of BDNF mRNA and protein at 3,6,12h and 1,4,7days after I/R by in situ hybridization and immunochemistry method,and the number of apoptosis neuron observed by TUNEL method.Results: The expressions of BDNF mRNA and protein in the penumbra region increased at 3h after reperfusion,and reached the peak after 12h,then decreased continuously after 3days(P0.05,P0.01).The apoptosis neuron increasedsignificantly at 3h after reperfusion,and reached the peak after 24h,then decreased continuously but were yet higher than the norma1 1evel after 7days(P0.05,P0.01).QRHYP treatment could increase the expressions of BDNF and decrease apoptosis neuron(P0.05,P0.01).Conclusions: QRHYP could decrease neuronal apoptosis through upregulating the expression of BDNF after I/R in rats.