title: Overexpression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus protects against post-stroke depression.
abstract: Post-stroke depression is associated with reduced expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In this study, we evaluated whether BDNF overexpression affects depression-like behavior in a rat model of post-stroke depression. The middle cerebral artery was occluded to produce a model of focal cerebral ischemia. These rats were then subjected to isolation-housing combined with chronic unpredictable mild stress to generate a model of post-stroke depression. A BDNF gene lentiviral vector was injected into the hippocampus. At 7 days after injection, western blot assay and real-time quantitative PCR revealed that BDNF expression in the hippocampus was increased in depressive rats injected with BDNF lentivirus compared with depressive rats injected with control vector. Furthermore, sucrose solution consumption was higher, and horizontal and vertical movement scores were increased in the open field test in these rats as well. These findings suggest that BDNF overexpression in the hippocampus of post-stroke depressive rats alleviates depression-like behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Medical Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Medicine, Jinhua Polytechnic, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Hao-Hao
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Medical Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Medicine, Jinhua Polytechnic, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Yun
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Ma-Rong
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Center of Experimental Animals, Jinhua Food and Drug Administration, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center of Experimental Animals, Jinhua Food and Drug Administration, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yuan-Shu
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Medical Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Medicine, Jinhua Polytechnic, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Xing
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Medical Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Medicine, Jinhua Polytechnic, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yan
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5496-7944
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Fu
keywords: brain injury; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; cerebral ischemia; chronic unpredictable mild stress; depression-like behavior; hippocampus; lentivirus; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; open field test; post-stroke depression; sucrose solution consumption; western blot assay