title: [Vasoactive intestinal peptide attenuates apoptosis and iNOS protein expression induced by cerebral ischemia in the rat].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the neuroprotective action of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) on ischemia and reperfusion in the rat.
  
  
  METHODS
  VIP was given via intracerebroventriclar injection after a 2 hour transient middle cerebral artery occlusion using filament model. The infarct volume was investigated with TTC stain. Apoptosis in the ischemic boundary zone were evaluated with TUNEL stain. Western blotting were used to analyze the iNOS protein expression as well.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After VIP injection, the relative infarct volume of rats was significantly reduced by approximately 28% campared to that of the control groups at 1 day (P < 0.05). The number of TUNEL positive cells was significantly decreased in the ischemic boundary zone, and then the expression of iNOS was remarkablely decreased as well (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VIP has a neuroprotective effect on cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. The mechanism seems to involve decreasing the apoptosis and down-regulating the iNOS expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Histology-embryology, School of Medicine, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710061, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chang-hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.forename: Wei-xi
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiao-dan
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guo-min
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II