Basic fibroblast growth factor enhances cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of neonatal rats following hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic insult is considered a major contributor to child mortality and morbidity and leads to neurological deficits in newborn infants. There has been a lack of promising neurotherapeutic interventions for hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) for clinical application in infants. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between neurogenesis and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) region in neonatal rats following HIBD.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cell proliferation was examined by detecting BrdU signals, and the role of bFGF in cell proliferation in the DG region following neonatal HIBD was investigated.

RESULTS: Cell proliferation was induced by HIBD in the hippocampal DG of neonatal rats. Furthermore, bFGF gene expression was upregulated in the hippocampus in neonatal rats, particularly between 7 and 14 days after HIBD. Moreover, intraperitoneal injection of exogenous bFGF enhanced cell proliferation in the hippocampal DG following neonatal HIBD.

CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these data indicate that cell proliferation in the DG could be induced by neonatal HIBD, and bFGF promotes proliferation following neonatal HIBD.