Adeno-associated virus-mediated human acidic fibroblast growth factor expression promotes functional recovery of spinal cord-contused rats

作者:Huang Wen Cheng; Kuo Huai Sheng; Tsai May Jywan; Ma Hsu; Chiu Chuan Wen; Huang Ming Chao; Yang Lin Hsue; Chang Pei Teh; Lin Yi Lo; Kuo Wen Chun; Lee Meng Jen; Liu Jiang Chuan; Cheng Henrich
来源:Journal of Gene Medicine, 2011, 13(5): 283-289.
DOI:10.1002/jgm.1568

摘要

Background factors to the injured spinal cord has been shown to promote axonal regeneration and functional recovery. In previous studies, we showed that acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) is a potent neurotrophic factor that promotes the regeneration of axotomized spinal cord or dorsal root ganglion neurones.
Methods We constructed a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector to express human aFGF and evaluated aFGF expression and function in AAV-aFGF-infected PC12 cells. We analyzed AAV-green fluorescent protein (GFP) tropism and AAV-mediated aFGF expression in contused spinal cords. Animals received behavioural testing to evaluate the functional recovery.
Results Overexpression of aFGF was shown in AAV-aFGF-infected PC12 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Concurrently, neurite extension and cell number were significantly increased in AAV-aFGF infected cells. AAV-mediated GFP expression persisted for at least 5 weeks in contused spinal cords, and the most prominently transduced cells were neurones. Contusive injury reduced endogenous aFGF expression in spinal cords. Overexpression of aFGF was demonstrated in AAV-aFGF transduced spinal cords compared to AAV-GFP transduced spinal cords at 3 and 14 days post-injury. Evaluation of motor function revealed that the improvement of AAV-aFGF-treated rats was prominent. Both AAV-aFGF-and recombinant human aFGF-treated rats revealed significantly better recovery at 5 weeks post-injury, compared to vehicle-and AAV-GFP-treated rats.
Conclusions These data suggest that supplement of aFGF improve the functional recovery of spinal cord-contused rats and that AAV-aFGF-mediated gene transfer could be a clinically feasible therapeutic approach for patients after nervous system injuries.