Transforming Growth Factor -? Improves Memory Impairment and Neurogenesis Following Ischemia Reperfusion

Objective: stroke is most important cause of death and disability in adults. the hippocampalca1 and sub-ventricular zone neurons are vulnerable to ischemia thatcan impair memory and learning functions. although neurogenesis normally occursin the dentate gyrus (dg) of the hippocampus and sub-ventricular zone (svz) followingbrain damage, this response is unable to compensate for severely damagedareas. this study aims to assess both neurogenesis and the neuroprotective effectsof transforming growth factor-alpha (tgf-?) on the hippocampus and svz followingischemia-reperfusion.materials and methods: in this experimental study, a total of 48 male wistar ratswere divided into the following groups: surgical (n=12), phosphate buffered saline(pbs) treated vehicle shams (n=12), ischemia (n=12) and treatment (n=12) groups.ischemia was induced by common carotid occlusion for 30 minutes followed by reperfusion,and tgf-? was then injected into the right lateral ventricle. spatial memorywas assessed using morris water maze (mwm). nestin and bcl-2 family protein expressionswere studied by immunohistochemistry (ihc) and western blot methods,respectively. finally, data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences(spss, spss inc., chicago, usa) version 16 and one-way analysis of variance(anova).results: tgf-? injection significantly increased nestin expression in both the hippocampaldg and svz areas. tgf-? treatment caused a significant decrease in bax expressionand an increase in bcl-2 anti-apoptotic protein expression in the hippocampus. our resultsshowed a significant increase in the number of pyramidal neurons. memory also improvedsignificantly following tgf-? treatment.conclusion: our findings proved that tgf-? reduced ischemic injury and played aneuroprotective role in the pathogenesis of ischemic injury.