Objective: To investigate the time course changes of the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the subventricular zone (SVZ) after traumatic brain injury.
METHODS: The rats were divided into 3 groups by random number table method. The control group did not receive any treatment. The sham operation group only had scalp and skull fenestration. The experimental group was treated with Feeney's method to cause traumatic brain injury (TBI). Two cell markers, Nestin and BrdU, as well as neuron-specific markers, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and glial cell markers, GFAP, were selected. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the proliferation and differentiation of SVZ endogenous NSCs after TBI.
RESULTS: After TBI, SVZNestin/NSE, Nestin/GFAP, BrdU/NSE, BrdU/GFAP-labeled positive cells on the injured side all increased significantly, which started to increase on the 1st day after injury, reached the peak on the 3rd day, and returned to normal on the 14th day. There were significant differences between the four time points in the experimental group and between the corresponding time points in the experimental group and the control group, among which the proliferation and division positive cells marked by Nestin/GFAP increased most significantly.
Conclusion: After TBI, NSCs in the SVZ of the injured side were mobilized, and the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous NSCs in the region were induced, suggesting that the SVZ is one of the important germinal centers for the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs.