Acidic fibroblast growth factor infusion reduces ischemic CA1 hippocampal damage in the gerbil

Occlusion of the carotid arteries for 5 minutes in the Mongolian gerbil results in selective necrosis of CA1 pyramidal neurons. In the present experiments we studied whether intraventricular infusion of acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) could attenuate this damage. Intraventricular infusions of bovine serum albumin (BSA-10 ng/h) or aFGF (1, 10 or 100 ng/h) were started 2 days prior to 5 minutes of bilateral carotid occlusion and continued for 5 days post-ischemia. The brains were perfused and fixed at 5 days post-ischemia and histological assessment of CA1 damage was made. Animals receiving intraventricular infusions of 10 or 100 ng/h aFGF showed a significant reduction of CA1 neuronal damage in comparison to no treatment ischemic controls (no treatment-8 +/- 1; aFGF 10 ng/h-147 +/- 28; aFGF 100 ng/h-168 +/- 35 cells/mm CA1; P < 0.05 for both aFGF groups). The results indicate that aFGF infusion can attenuate the severity of ischemic neuronal necrosis in the gerbil hippocampus.