Dexamethasone enhances upregulation of nerve growth factor mRNA expression in ischemic rat brain

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is well-established as a trophic factor that plays a crucial role in neuroregeneration and plasticity after brain insults. Dexamethasone (DEX), a powerful glucocorticoid steroid, has long been used in the clinical management of neurological disorders. We examined the relationship between NGF and DEX after an ischemic insult to the brain. In situ hybridization was used to measure NGF mRNA expression in the rat hippocampus after 20 min of transient forebrain ischemia. Immunostaining for NGF protein was performed using the avidin-biotin peroxidase method. Immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was also used to study the astrocyte reaction in the hippocampal CA1 area. Ischemic brain from rats not treated with DEX had a 2 and 3 fold increase in NGF mRNA compared to sham-operated rats at 4 and 6 h after ischemia, respectively. The NGF mRNA expression returned to basal levels 12 h to 7 days post-ischemia. Treatment with DEX potentiated the ischemia-induced increase of NGF mRNA to 4 times that of sham-operated rats at 6 h following reperfusion and NGF protein expression was similarly elevated. Additionally, the number of GFAP positive astrocytes in the CA1 region in the ischemic rats was markedly increased. These data suggest that DEX may play a role in modulating NGF mRNA expression in the hippocampal neuronal response to brain ischemia.