title: Growth hormone (GH) treatment may cooperate with locally-produced GH in increasing the proliferative response of hippocampal progenitors to kainate-induced injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to investigate the effect of growth hormone treatment on the proliferation of endogenous neural progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the brain stimulated by kainic acid (KA)-induced neurotoxicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neurotoxicity was induced by intraperitoneal injection of KA. GH treatment lasted 4 days, starting either immediately or after 10 days of administration of the neurotoxic insult.
  
  
  METHODS
  Proliferating cells were immunodetected after labelling by in vivo administration of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). GH expression was detected by in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  KA administration stimulated the proliferation of hippocampal precursors and this effect was significantly enhanced by GH treatment. Hippocampal GH expression was also up-regulated in response to KA administration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings support the possibility that the proliferative response observed in the hippocampus of rats treated with KA and GH is a consequence of cooperation between the exogenous and the locally-produced hormone and their synergism with other mitogenic factors generated in response to the neurotoxic damage. Therefore, GH treatment could be used to cooperate with other physiological or pathological stimuli in order to promote cell proliferation.
authors: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors: Pablo
authors: P
authors: Devesa
authors: Pedro
authors: P
authors: Reimunde
authors: Rosalía
authors: R
authors: Gallego
authors: Jesús
authors: J
authors: Devesa
authors: Víctor M
authors: VM
authors: Arce
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007608:Kainic Acid; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D013006:Growth Hormone; D007608:Kainic Acid