Effect of fluoxetine on HIF-1 α- Netrin/VEGF cascade, angiogenesis and neuroprotection in a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Effect of fluoxetine on HIF-1α- Netrin/VEGF cascade, angiogenesis and neuroprotection in a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Exp Neurol. 2020 Apr 12;:113312 Authors: Hu Q, Liu L, Zhou L, Lu H, Wang J, Chen X, Wang Q Abstract Fluoxetine is one of the most promising drugs for improving clinical outcome in patients with ischemic stroke. This in vivo study investigated the hypothesis that fluoxetine may affect HIF-1α-Netrin/VEGF cascade, angiogenesis and neuroprotection using a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). The rats were given fluoxetine or saline after tMCAO for 4 weeks. Then, protein expression of HIF-1α-Netrin/VEGF cascade was examined at 1, 2, 4 weeks after tMCAO. In vivo synchrotron radiation were performed to observe microangiography of ischemic brain after 4 weeks of tMCAO. The infarct size and neurobehavioral test were carried out 1 to 4 weeks after tMCAO. Results revealed that HIF-1α expression was upregulated in fluoxetine-treated group. Similarly, fluoxetine increased protein expression of Netrin and its receptor DCC, VEGF and its receptor VEGFR. Synchrotron radiation angiography revealed more branches in fluoxetine-treated rats. We found no difference of infarct volume between fluoxetine and saline treated rats after 1 week of tMCAO, and ischemia-induced brain atrophy volume in fluoxetine-treated group was attenuated after 4 weeks of tMCAO. Neurological...
Source: Experimental Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Exp Neurol Source Type: research