Functional electrical stimulation-facilitated proliferation and regeneration of neural precursor cells in the brains of rats with cerebral infarction

作     者：Yun Xiang Huihua Liu Tiebin Yan Zhiqiang Zhuang Dongmei Jin Yuan Peng 

作者机构：Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital Sun Yat-sen University Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Shenzhen Sixth People’s Hospital Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Guangzhou First People’s Hospital 

出 版 物：《Neural Regeneration Research》 (中国神经再生研究（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2014年第9卷第3期

页      面：243-251页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 1002[医学-临床医学] 1001[医学-基础医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 100204[医学-神经病学] 10[医学] 

基　　金：the National Natural Science Foundation of China grants No.30772304 30973166 and 81171863 

主　　题：nerve regeneration brain injury functional electrical stimulation neural precursor cells neurogenesis basic fibroblast growth factor epidermal growth factor nestin stroke rats NSFC grant neural regeneration 

摘      要：Previous studies have shown that proliferation of endogenous neural precursor cells cannot alone compensate for the damage to neurons and axons. From the perspective of neural plastici- ty, we observed the effects of functional electrical stimulation treatment on endogenous neural precursor cell proliferation and expression of basic fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor in the rat brain on the infarct side. Functional electrical stimulation was performed in rat models of acute middle cerebral artery occlusion. Simultaneously, we set up a placebo stimulation group and a sham-operated group. Immunohistochemical staining showed that, at 7 and 14 days, compared with the placebo group, the numbers of nestin （a neural precursor cell marker）-positive cells in the subgranular zone and subventricular zone were increased in the functional electrical stimulation treatment group. Western blot assays and reverse-transcription PCR showed that total protein levels and gene expression of epidermal growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor were also upregulated on the infarct side. Prehensile traction test results showed that, at 14 days, prehension function of rats in the functional electrical stimulation group was significantly better than in the placebo group. These results suggest that functional electrical stimulation can promote endogenous neural precursor cell proliferation in the brains of acute cerebral infarction rats, enhance expression of basic fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor, and improve the motor function of rats.