title: Response of the sensorimotor cortex of cerebral palsy rats receiving transplantation of vascular endothelial growth factor 165-transfected neural stem cells.
abstract: Neural stem cells are characterized by the ability to differentiate and stably express exogenous ge-nes. Vascular endothelial growth factor plays a role in protecting local blood vessels and neurons of newborn rats with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Transplantation of vascular endothelial growth factor-transfected neural stem cells may be neuroprotective in rats with cerebral palsy. In this study, 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: (1) sham operation (control), (2) cerebral palsy model alone or with (3) phosphate-buffered saline, (4) vascular endothelial growth factor 165 + neural stem cells, or (5) neural stem cells alone. The cerebral palsy model was established by ligating the left common carotid artery followed by exposure to hypoxia. Phosphate-buffered saline, vascular endothelial growth factor + neural stem cells, and neural stem cells alone were administered into the sensorimotor cortex using the stereotaxic instrument and microsyringe. After transplantation, the radial-arm water maze test and holding test were performed. Immunohistochemistry for vascular endothelial growth factor and histology using hematoxylin-eosin were performed on cerebral cortex. Results revealed that the number of vascular endothelial growth factor-positive cells in cerebral palsy rats transplanted with vascular endothelial growth factor-transfected neural stem cells was increased, the time for finding water and the finding repetitions were reduced, the holding time was prolonged, and the degree of cell degeneration or necrosis was reduced. These findings indicate that the transplantation of vascular endothelial growth factor-transfected neural stem cells alleviates brain damage and cognitive deficits, and is neuroprotective in neonatal rats with hypoxia ischemic-mediated cerebral palsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Jielu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiangrong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Shanshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Yujia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhong
keywords: NSFC grant; animal model; cerebral palsy; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neural stem cells; neuroprotection; transplantation; vascular endothelial growth factor