title: Vasoactive intestinal peptide protects against ischemic brain damage induced by focal cerebral ischemia in rats.
abstract: Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) exerts neuroprotective effects under various neurotoxic conditions in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the effects of VIP on transient ischemic brain damage. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced using middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 120 min in the adult rat brain. Either a single intracerebroventricular injection of VIP or saline was given at the beginning of reperfusion. Forty-eight hours after MCAO, the rats were sacrificed for evaluation of the infarct volume and histological analysis. ELISA was performed to assay levels of serum S100B before being sacrificed. We also evaluated the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability using Evans blue dye injection method. In contrast to the cases treated with vehicle, the infarct volume was significantly (P<0.05) reduced, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and immunoreactivity for S100B were also significantly (P<0.05) decreased in the ischemic hemisphere with VIP treatment. In addition, the elevations of serum S100B were significantly (P<0.01) attenuated in VIP-treated rats compared with those of control rats. Treatment with VIP did not result in a significant reduction of Evans blue leakage, although it tended to be lower than that in the control rats. Our data suggest that treatment with VIP reduces brain damage in ischemic rats, and this effect may be associated with the attenuation of apoptosis and S100B expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China. yangjie@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tian-Bao
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Zhao-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Shu-Dong
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Xiao-Dan
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins; C579160:S100B protein, human; C579158:S100b protein, rat; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide