To examine the ability of intrastriatal gene transfer of vascular endothelial growth factor 165 mediated by adenoviral vector to rescue dopaminergic neurons in a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD), we constructed recombinant replication-deficent adenoviral vectors carrying the gene of VEGF165 (Ad-VEGF), and injected Ad-VEGF (or Ad-LacZ and PBS as controls) into the striatum of rats 7 days after the lesion by 6-hydroxydopamine. The rat rotational behavior analysis and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry were performed to assess the change of dopaminergic neurons. Our results showed that the rats receiving Ad-VEGF injection displayed a significant improvement in apomorphine-induced rotational behavior and a significant preservation of TH-positive neurons and fibers compared with control animals. It is concluded that intrastriatal gene transfer by Ad-VEGF may rescue the dopaminergic neurons from degeneration in a rat model of PD.

To examine the ability of intrastriatal gene transfer of vascular endothelial growth factor 165 mediated by adenoviral vector to rescue dopaminergic neurons in a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD), we constructed recombinant replication-deficent adenoviral vectors carrying the gene of VEGF165 (Ad-VEGF), and injected Ad-VEGF (or Ad-LacZ and PBS as controls) into the striatum of rats 7 days after the lesion by 6-hydroxydopamine. The rat rotational behavior analysis and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry were performed to assess the change of dopaminergic neurons. Our results showed that the rats receiving Ad-VEGF injection displayed a significant improvement in apomorphine-induced rotational behavior and a significant preservation of TH-positive neurons and fibers compared with control animals. It is concluded that intrastriatal gene transfer by Ad-VEGF may rescue the dopaminergic neurons from degeneration in a rat model of PD.

Objective:To investigate the effect of long-term low dose ionizing radiation on the levels of interleukin (IL) and TGF-β1 in the population in high background radiation area(HBRA).Methods:Appropriate amount of peripheral blood was drawn from 41 and 44 healthy men aged 45-65 years who were randomly selected from Tangkou town of Yangjiang city (HBRA) and Hengpo town of Enping city (control area, CA), respectively. After centrifugation and stratification, the upper plasma of blood was separated to determine IL-2, sIL-2R, IL-4, IL-5 and TGF-β1 by using ELISA. The difference of plasma IL of the residents in those two regions was analyzed. The influence of region, age, smoking, drinking and income on the indexes of ILs and TGF-β1 was evaluated by Covariance analysis.Results:The concentration of IL-2 at HBRA area was slightly higher than those in the control area, but the other indexes were lower than those in CA residents. The differences of IL-5 ( t=7.124, P<0.001) and TGF-β1 ( t=4.900, P<0.001) between two areas were significant statistically. Covariance analysis showed that smoking had a significant effect on IL-2 level ( F=5.283, P<0.05). Conclusions:Under the influence of long-term low-dose ionizing radiation, all kinds of plasma interleukin levels of residents in HBRA were different with that in CA. The immune balance was biased towards Th1 type cytokines, and the immune function in HBRA was slightly stronger than that in CA, suggesting that long-term chronic low-dose ionizing radiation may induce adaptive changes in the immune function, which needs further study.