Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event which causes dramatic changes in the everyday life of the patient. We have found that acute SCI reduced BDNF expression selectively in the hippocampus of lesioned rats, a decrease which persists at least 1 week, thus identifying the modulation of the neurotrophin biosynthesis as an important mechanism underlying brain vulnerability to SCI. These data are the first to show that SCI alters hippocampal BDNF expression and identify the neurotrophin as a potential target through which SCI changes brain functions, a notion that might prove useful in understanding the mechanisms underlying brain vulnerability to SCI.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Analysis of Variance
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Animals
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Autoradiography
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Blotting, Western
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Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / genetics
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Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / metabolism*
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Down-Regulation
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Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / metabolism
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Frontal Lobe / metabolism
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GAP-43 Protein / metabolism
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Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / metabolism
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Hippocampus / metabolism*
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Laminectomy
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Male
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Prefrontal Cortex / metabolism
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RNA, Messenger / genetics
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RNA, Messenger / metabolism
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Rats
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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Spinal Cord Injuries / metabolism*
Substances
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Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
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GAP-43 Protein
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RNA, Messenger
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Fibroblast Growth Factor 2
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Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases