Acute up-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression resulting from experimentally induced injury in the rat spinal cord

Abstract.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the nerve growth factor family of trophic factors, has multiple functions including a role in the promotion of neuronal survival and nerve fiber elongation in both the central and the peripheral nervous systems. We assessed the expression of endogenous BDNF following an experimentally induced compression injury to the spinal cord. Expression of BDNF mRNA was increased following the spinal cord injury; reaching maximum levels 24 h after the injury. Expression of BDNF mRNA returned to the levels observed in sham-operated control animals within 3 days of the injury. Using the in situ hybridization technique, we observed a wide distribution of BDNF expression among the different cell types in the spinal cord, including motor and sensory neurons, and in glia cells, including astrocytes. We also observed expression of BDNF in putative macrophages and/or microglia; however, this effect was not observed until day 7 following spinal cord injury. These results suggest that BDNF is synthesized in both neurons and astrocytes during the acute response to injury to the spinal cord, functioning in a mainly neuroprotective role. This is followed by a later phase of expression in which BDNF is produced by macrophages and/or microglia, apparently functioning in a restorative capacity.