title: PDGF receptor β signaling in pericytes following ischemic brain injury.
abstract: Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)-B plays a neuroprotective role in brain damages, including ischemic stroke. It has been suggested recently that PDGF receptor β (PDGFRβ) expressed in brain pericytes as well as in neurons and astrocytes may mediate the neuroprotective role of PDGF-B. The aims of this study were to elucidate the roles of PDGFRβ signaling in brain pericytes after ischemic stroke. In a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model, PDGFRβ expression was induced specifically in the pericytes in peri-infarct areas and its level was gradually increased. PDGF-B induced marked phosphorylation of Akt in cultured brain pericytes. Consistently, PDGF-B was upregulated in endothelial cells in per-infarct areas and Akt was strongly phosphorylated in the PDGFRβ-expressing pericytes in periinfarct areas after MCAO. In the cultured pericytes, PDGF-B induced cell growth and anti-apoptotic responses through Akt. Furthermore, PDGF-B significantly increased the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) through Akt in the pericytes. Thus, the PDGFRβ-Akt signaling in brain pericytes may play various important roles leading to neuroprotection after ischemic stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arimura
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ago
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamouchi
authors.forename: Kuniyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishitsuka
authors.forename: Junya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugimori
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ooboshi
authors.forename: Tomio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Takanari
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitazono
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020286:Pericytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020797:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D020797:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt