ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cholinergic nervous system has a site which is affected by both blineurine and nerve growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase A (NGF-RTK-A). Whether cholinergic injury can affect the changes of tyrosine kinase A (TrKA) is significant to the application of nerve growth factor (NGF) to interfere cognitive disorder disease.OBJECTIVE: To observe the expressive variety of TrKA in different cerebral regions of rats with bilateral fimbria/fornix transection, and comprehend the effect of fimbria/fornix transection on nerve growth factor receptor system.DESIGN: A completely randomized and controlled study on the basis of animals.SETTING: Institute of Cerebrovascular Disease, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College.MATERIALS: The experiment was completed in the Institute of Cerebrovascular Disease, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College from March to December 2003. Totally 14 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group and model group with 7 in each group.METHODS: The bilateral fimbria/fornix transection was performed on rats in the model group, but rats in the control group were treated with the same methods except fimbria/fornix transection. Twenty eight days after operation, rats in the two groups were killed under anesthesia to take out brain tissues to stain with immunohistochemical staining.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of positive TrKA cells in the hippocammpal CA1, cortex, amygdala and Meynert of the basal forebrain of rats in both groups.RESULTS: Totally 14 rats entered the final analysis. The numbers of positive TrKA cells in the hippocammpal CA1, cortex, amygdala and Meynert of the basal forebrain of rats in the model group were obviously smaller than those in the control group [(18.91 ±6.27), (15.17±5.23),(18.71±9.05), (8.03±2.33); (54.77±11.84), (59.69±10.40), (49.23±15.84),(21.49±15.54), t=4.17-10.00; P ＜ 0.01].CONCLUSION: The expression of TrkA positive neurons is decreased in many sections of the brain in the rats with fimbria/fornix transection.Possibly it is the cause leading to the cognitive disorder and senile dementia.