TITLE:
Statins enhance expression of growth factors and activate the PI3K/Akt-mediated signaling pathway after experimental intracerebral hemorrhage
AUTHORS:
Dongmei Yang, Yuxia Han, Jianfeng Zhang, Michael Chopp, Donald M. Seyfried
KEYWORDS:
Statin; Growth Factor; Experimental; Intracerebral Hemorrhage
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Neuroscience,
Vol.2 No.2,
May
29,
2012
ABSTRACT: Previous studies have demonstrated that statins improve neurological outcome and promote neuro-vascular recovery after ICH. This study is designed to examine whether simvastatin and atorvastatin affect levels of growth factors and activate the Akt signaling pathway during the recovery phase after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in rats. Sixty (60) male Wistar rats were subjected to ICH by stereotactic injecttion of 100 μL of autologous blood into the striatum and were treated with or without simvastatin or atorvastatin. Neurological functional outcome was evaluated by behavioral tests (mNSS and corner turn test) at different time points after ICH. Brain extracts were utilized for Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses to measure vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); brain-derived neurotrophin factor (BDNF) expression, and nerve growth factor (NGF). Western blot was used to measure the changes in the Akt-mediated signaling pathway. Both the simvastatin and atorvastatin-treated animals had significant neurological improvement at 2 weeks post-ICH. Simvastatin and atorvastatin treatment increased the expression of BDNF, VEGF and NGF in both low- and high-dose groups at 7 days after ICH (p