Issue Archive

VEGF enhances reconstruction of neurovascular units in the brain after injury

PAN Zhi-Guang, MAO Ying, SUN Feng-Yan

Department of Neurobiology and State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China； Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200041, China； Research Center on Aging and Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Clinical Geriatric Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was originally recognized as a substance predominantly with vascular permeability and angiogenesis. Recently, more and more evidence indicated that VEGF is expressed in the neurons of the developing and adult brains. Functional investigation demonstrated that VEGF shows several important effects on the neuronal development and physiological function. For example, VEGF accelerates the development of neurons and neural dendritic and axon growth. Besides, VEGF directly and acutely regulates the functions of multiple ion channels of the neuron membrane and changes neural excitability. In traumatic or ischemic injured brains, VEGF produces neuroprotection, enhances capacity of adult neurogenesis and transformation of astroglial cells into new neurons, which are fundamental basis for re-establishment of neural network. Based on the knowledge obtained from the literatures, we propose that VEGF may play very important roles in neural plasticity in the normal brain, and the reconstruction of neurovascular units and neural repair in the traumatic injured brain. This review mainly focuses on neural activity and repair roles of VEGF in adult mammalian brains. Further study on the mechanism of VEGF’s neurobiological effects in the brain will be helpful for understanding the regulation of brain functions and developing new therapeutic strategy for prevention of neurodegeneration of the brain.

Key words: neurovascular unit; brain repair ; neurogenesis ; vascular endothelial growth factor ; transdifferentiation of glia ; angiogenesis ; neural plasticity

Received: 2016-07-17　　Accepted: 2016-12-01

Corresponding author: 孙凤艳　　E-mail: fysun@shmu.edu.cn

Citing This Article：

PAN Zhi-Guang, MAO Ying, SUN Feng-Yan. VEGF enhances reconstruction of neurovascular units in the brain after injury. Acta Physiol Sin 2017; 69 (1): 96-108 (in Chinese with English abstract).