Intracisternal IGF‐1 gene therapy abrogates kainic acid‐induced excitotoxic damage of the rat spinal cord

NISHIDA, FABIÁN; ZANUZZI, CAROLINA N.; SISTI, MARÍA S.; FALOMIR LOCKHART, EUGENIA; CAMIÑA, AGUSTINA E.; HEREÑÚ, CLAUDIA B.; BELLINI, MARÍA J.; PORTIANSKY, ENRIQUE L.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2020

0953-816X

evelopment of alternative therapies for treating functional deficits after different neurological damages is a challenge in neuroscience. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a potent neurotrophic factor exerting neuroprotective actions in brain and spinal cord. It is used to prevent or treat injuries of the central nervous system using different administration routes in different animal models. In this study we evaluated whether intracisternal (IC) route for IGF-1 gene therapy may abrogate or at least reduce the structural and behavioural damages induced by the intraparenchymal injection of kainic acid (KA) into the rat spinal cord. Experimental (Rad-IGF-1) and control (Rad-DsRed-KA) rats were evaluated using a battery of motor and sensory tests before the injection of the recombinant adenovector (day -3), before KA injection (day 0) and at every post-injection (pi) time point (days 1, 2, 3, and 7 pi). Histopathological changes and neuronal and glial counting were assessed. Pretre