Expression of adenovirus-mediated neurotrophin-3 gene in Schwann cells of sciatic nerve in rats.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the expression of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) gene in Schwann cells of rat sciatic nerve introduced by an adenovirus vector in vivo.


METHODS
A recombinant adenovirus vector for NT-3 (Ad-NT-3) was propagated in 293 packaging cells and titered with tissue culture infectious dose(50) (TCID(50)). Ad-NT-3 was injected directly into the rat sciatic nerve after transection and immediate repair. Immunohistochemical staining was employed to determine the expression of NT-3 in Schwann cells in rat sciatic nerve and the expressive intensity of the tissue slices of the sciatic nerve was measured with LEICA M550 image analysis system.


RESULTS
On the 2nd day after injection of Ad-NT-3, positive stain in the Schwann cells was apparent in the vicinity of anastomosis. NT-3 expression increased significantly on the 7th day (P<0.01) and then decreased 14-28 days after injection (P<0.01). There was no significant difference of NT-3 expression between the 14th and 28th day groups (P<0.05). Compared with the 2nd day group, the 14th and 28th day groups still maintained a relatively high level of NT-3 (P<0.01). Intact and repaired nerves, which were injected with adenovirus encoding LacZ genes (Ad-LacZ) or physiological saline served as controls, showed no NT-3-positive Schwann cells.


CONCLUSIONS
An adenovirus vector can be used to induce efficiently the expression of NT-3 gene in Schwann cells of rat peripheral nerves following nerve injury and repair, which suggests that neurotrophic factors can be introduced into Schwann cells with an adenovirus vector to promote peripheral nerve regeneration.
Zhu
Jin-Yu
JY
Institute of Orthopaedics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China. zhujinyu@fmmu.edu.cn
Huang
Yao-Tian
YT
Zhu
Qing-Sheng
QS
Lu
Rong
R
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D015870:Gene Expression; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007763:Lac Operon / Q000235:genetics; D020933:Neurotrophin 3 / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries*
D020933:Neurotrophin 3