Acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) has mitogenic effects on many non-neural cells, but also supports the survival, neurite outgrowth and differentiation of neuronal cells in vitro. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of aFGF on recovery from injury of peripheral nerve. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital. The left sciatic nerve with its three major branches was exposed and carefully separated from the muscle. The common sciatic nerve proximal to major branches was damaged by 3 types of injuries; crush, ligation, and sham surgery. aFGF or vehicle was given once daily for three days after nerve injury in rats. Behavioral test using inclined plane was donducted on days 1, 4, 7, 11, 18, 25, 32, 39, and 46 after injury. After 25 or 46 postoperative (p.o.) days, the rats were reanesthetized with urethane and subjected to electrophysiological study. Inclined plane test revealed that the aFGF treated crush and ligation group showed the increase of functional recovery than vehicle treated group. In the electrophysiological study at the compound muscle action potential (CMAP), the N1 (negative peak 1) and P1 (positive peak 1) amplitudes evoked by the electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve in the aFGF treated crush group were higher than in vehicle treated group on p.o. day 25. On p.o. day 46, the N1 and P1 latencies evoked by the stimulation of the sciatic nerve in the aFGF treated ligation group were shorter than in vehicle treated group. In the nerve-to-nerve conduction, on p.o. day 25, the P1 latency evoked by the stimulation of the tibial nerve in the aFGF treated crush group was shorter than in vehicle treated group. On p.o. day 46, the N1 amplitude evoked by the stimulation of the tibial nerve in the aFGF treated crush group was higher than in vehicle treated group. These results suggest that the treatment of aFGF plays a role in recovery from peripheral nerve injuries. (Supported by MOHW #HMP-98- NM-2-0034).
Source: Korean J Physiol Pharmacol.2001 Dec;5(Suppl II):S97
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