title: VEGF promotes angiogenesis and functional recovery in stroke rats.
abstract: We evaluated the effects of intranasal vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF on neurological function and angiogenesis in ischemic boundary following cerebral ischemia. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into sham operation group (n = 9), VEGF group (n = 18), and control group (n = 18). The VEGF and control rats were intranasally administered (IN) with VEGF or saline, starting three days after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and daily. Neurological scores were obtained at 1, 7, and 14 days after MCAO. Rats were sacrificed at 14 days, the von Willebrand factor (vWF) immunoreactive, BrdU(+)/vWF(+) cells, and microvessels were evaluated respectively. Compared to the control rats, intranasal administration of VEGF improved behavioral recovery, and increased the number of vWF(+), BrdU(+)/vWF(+) cells, and FITC-dextran perfused microvessels in ischemic boundary (p < .01). Our data suggest that intranasal administration of VEGF may induce angiogenesis in ischemic boundary and improve behavioral recovery following cerebral ischemia in rats, which may provide a powerful strategy for stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
authors.forename: Ji-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Huai-Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xin-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D055806:Microvessels / Q000502:physiology; D023421:Models, Animal; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A