Abstract
Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in angiogenesis
and vasculogenesis. Statins administered promote functional improvement in rats, independent
of their capability to lower cholesterol. Whether statin treatment regulates circulating
EPCs after traumatic brain injury (TBI) has not been investigated. We hypothesized
that atorvastatin increases circulating EPCs and promotes angiogenesis in TBI rats.
Wistar rats (20 months old) were subjected to TBI and treated with or without atorvastatin (orally
administered, 1 mg/kg/day) starting 1 h after TBI and then daily for 14 consecutive days. Long term potentiation (LTP) in
the cornu ammonis1 of the hippocampus as well as the Modified Neurological Severity
Score (mNSS) and the Morris Water Maze (MWM) functional tests were performed. Blood
circulating EPCs were identified by flow cytometry. Rats were sacrificed 25 days after TBI. vWF and CD31 immunostaining was performed. We found that atorvastatin
administration significantly induced angiogenesis and increased circulating EPC levels
as well as improved functional recovery when compared with non-treatment TBI-control
rats (P<0.05). The circulating EPC level is correlated with vascular density (r=0.878, P <0.05) and CD31 positive cell number in the injured brain (r=0.921, P <0.05). The results suggest that increasing circulating EPCs with atorvastatin treatment
may contribute to the observed increase in angiogenesis and improved functional outcome
after TBI.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 04, 2012
Accepted:
April 12,
2012
Received in revised form:
March 16,
2012
Received:
October 23,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
