Vof-16 knockout improves the recovery from hypoxic-ischemic brain damage of neonatal rats.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) results in high neonatal mortality and severe neurological impairments, and its underlying molecular mechanism underwent extensive investigations. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is considered to be an important regulator on brain development and many neurological diseases. Currently, little is known about the role of Vof-16 (lncRNA) in HIE. We detected the relative expression level of Vof-16 in the cortex and hippocampus of hypoxic-ischemic (HI) models whose successful establishment was verified by TTC staining. Then, Vof-16 knockout rats were generated using the CRISPR/Cas engineering technology to search the specific function of the Vof-16 through a series of behavioral evaluations including Neurological severity scores (NSS), Y-maze test, Morris water maze (MWW) test, open field test, and Rotarod test. The results demonstrated the expression of Vof-16 was substantially up-regulated in the cortex and hippocampus of rats with HI injury. Importantly, Vof-16 knockout facilitated the recovery from long-term HI induced nerve damage and neurobehavioral dysfunctions. In conclusion, this study suggests Vof-16 knockout is a promising treatment target for neonatal HIE.

Electroacupuncture induced spinal plasticity is linked to multiple gene expressions in dorsal root deafferented rats.

The underlying mechanism for electroacupuncture (EA) associated functional improvement in patients suffering from spinal cord injury (SCI) is largely unknown. Collateral sprouting is one plausible factor, where the cord microenvironment may contribute greatly. The present study evaluated the effects of EA on collateral sprouting from spared dorsal root ganglion (DRG), sensory functional restorations, and differential gene expressions in spinal cord after partial DRG removal in the rat. Following EA, N1 waveform latencies for cortical somatosensory evoked potential significantly shortened. The densities of terminal sprouting from the spared DRG significantly increased on the EA versus the non-EA side. Microarray analysis revealed that several genes were upregulated on the acupunctured side at different time points; they were ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) at 1 day postoperation (dpo), fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-1, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 receptor, neuropeptide Y, and FGF-13 at 7 dpo, and CNTF and calcitonin gene-related polypeptide-alpha at 14 dpo, respectively. Meanwhile, five genes (CNTF, p75-like apoptosis-inducing death domain protein, IGF-1, transforming growth factor-beta 2, and FGF-4) were downregulated at 7 dpo. Furthermore, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction results supported the gene chip analysis. It was concluded that the EA induced sensory functional restorations following partial DRG ganglionectomies could be brought about by intraspinal sprouting from the spared DRG, as well as multiple differential gene expressions in the spinal cord. The results could have clinical application in EA treatment of patients after spinal injury.