Administration of Hepatocyte Growth Factor Increases Reelin and Disabled 1 Expression in the Mouse Cerebral Cortex: An In Vivo Study

• Published in: Cellular and molecular neurobiology 2011-11, Vol.31 (8), p.1267-1270
• Main Authors: Mashayekhi, Farhad, Gholizadeh, Lida
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Newborn; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal - genetics; Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal - metabolism; Cell Biology; Cerebral Cortex - cytology; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Extracellular Matrix Proteins - genetics; Extracellular Matrix Proteins - metabolism; Female; Hepatocyte Growth Factor - pharmacology; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics; Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Original Research; Reelin Protein; Serine Endopeptidases - genetics; Serine Endopeptidases - metabolism
• ISSN: 0272-4340; 1573-6830; 1573-6830
• DOI: 10.1007/s10571-011-9728-8

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor, c-Met, are widely expressed in the developing brain. HGF also known as scatter factor enhances cell proliferation and cell growth, and stimulates cell migration and motility. Neurons and glia produced in the neuroepithelium migrate along radial glial fibers into the cortical plate. Reelin, a glycoprotein which is produced by Cajal–Retzius cells in the marginal zone directs neuronal migration indirectly via the radial glial cells. It has been demonstrated that Disabled 1 functions downstream of reelin in a tyrosin kinase signal transduction pathway that controls appropriate cell positioning in the developing brain. In this study, administration of HGF on reelin and Disabled 1 expression in the cerebral cortex has been studied. Using Western blot, it was shown that the expression of reelin and Disabled 1 is increased in response to infusion of HGF when compared to control group. It is concluded that HGF is essential for reelin and Disabled 1 expression in the cerebral cortex of the newborn mouse. Moreover, this method may be applied to the other factors, allowing identification of molecules involved in neural cell migration.