0267

THE EFFECT OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR ON APOPTOSIS OF HYPOXIA-INDUCED CORTICAL NEURONS AND ITS SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION

Mao Meng, Zhou Hui, Wang Zhiling, Li Shengfu

Second Hospital, West China University of Medical Sciences, China

Objective: To study the effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on apoptosis of hypoxia-induced cortical neurons.

Methods: Separating the cortex from embryonic rat brains and incubating embryonic cortical neurons with BDNF in different time intervals before and after exposing the neurons to hypoxic cultural environment.

Results and Conclusions: Preincubating the neurons with BDNF for 24 hours before exposing them to hypoxic cultural environment, we observed that BDNF could protect the cortical neurons from hypoxia-induced apoptosis. The survival rate of the cortical neurons was significantly reduced after exposing them to hypoxia cultural environment, while pre-incubated the cortical neurons with BDNF for 24hr could prevent the cortical neurons against hypoxia neurotoxicity. We furthermore investigated the mechanism of BDNF protection for the cortical neurons in vitro. Up-regulation of the transcription of mRNA of BDNF receptor TrkB though activities of Ras-dependent protein kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction is one of the possible mechanisms of the neuron survives.