title: Vascular endothelial growth factor-expressing neural stem cell for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
abstract: Previously, we determined that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) improves the survival of neural stem cells (NSCs) transplanted into an ischemic environment and effectively enhances angiogenesis. Here, we applied NSCs expressing VEGF (SV-VEGF-NSCs) to treat neuropathic pain. In this study, our goal was to verify the therapeutic effect of SV-VEGF-NSCs by transplanting the cells in a sciatic nerve injury model. We compared the amount of VEGF secreted from DsRed-NSCs (control) or SV-VEGF-NSCs and observed that SV-VEGF-NSCs have a much higher expression level of VEGF. We next investigated whether transplantation with SV-VEGF-NSCs aids functional recovery and pain reduction. We confirmed that transplantation with SV-VEGF-NSCs enhances functional recovery, pain reduction, and remyelination as well as the number of blood vessels compared with the control groups. Our results show that VEGF aids functional recovery and pain reduction in a sciatic nerve injury model.
authors: aDepartment of Neurosurgery, Spine & Spinal Cord Institute bBrain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, College of Medicine, Yonsei University cDepartment of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Hye-Lan
authors: HL
authors: Lee
authors: Jinsoo
authors: J
authors: Oh
authors: Yeomin
authors: Y
authors: Yun
authors: Hye Yeong
authors: HY
authors: Lee
authors: Youngsang
authors: Y
authors: You
authors: Lihua
authors: L
authors: Che
authors: Minhyung
authors: M
authors: Lee
authors: Keung Nyun
authors: KN
authors: Kim
authors: Yoon
authors: Y
authors: Ha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D014110:Touch; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A