Expression And Clinical Study Of Hepatocyte Growth Factor In Cerebral Ischemia

Objectives: To investigate the changes of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) expression in rat brains following ischemia, and to study the changes and clinical values of HGF in cerebral ischemic patients, which may serves as theoretical proof for HGF's protective effects on the ischemic cerebral vascular disease (ICD) and treatment of ICD by HGF.Methods: We made focal permanent cerebral ischemia model by occluding the middle cerebral artery with nylon line in rats, to investigate the changes of HGF expression in brain tissue by immunohistochemistry. Serum HGF levels of TIA patients and cerebral infarction patients were serially determined by ELISA.Results: It was found that HGF started to express at 3h after onset of MCAO, then gradually increased, extened at 7d,and became further marked at 14d after MCAO 0 HGF expression was mainly detected in the periphery of the ischemia area at every timepointoThe levels of HGF in infarction patients were much higher than those in TIA and control groups with a highly significant difference (p<0.01)o We also found that the infarction patients with larger focus had higher HGF levels, the levels of HGF in TIA group had no difference compared with those in control group (p>0.05) . Administration of low molecular heparin caused increase in serum HGF.Conclusions: HGF expression is up-regulated by ischemia .HGF may takes part in the pathological and recovery process of ischemic stroke . Determination of serum HGF may serves as a sensitive monitor of cerebral ischemic degree.