Treatment with AAV-BDNF enhances cell migration from SVZ explants derived from stroke brains.

<p>Adult rats were infected with AAV-BDNF or AAV-RFP unilaterally into the left (L) SVZ 2 weeks prior to right (R) MCAo. Bilateral SVZ tissues were harvested one day after MCAo and were cultured separately in Matrogel. The migration of SVZ cells from the explants was examined microscopically from days 1-8 after culture. (A) Representative images of SVZ explants from stroke animals pretreated with AAV-RFP (upper panels) or AAV-BDNF (lower panels). AAV-BDNF treatment increased cell migration from the left SVZ explants (AAV-BDNF-L) on DIV 8. There was minimal migration on DIV2. Calibration= 500 µm. (B)AAV-BDNF, compared to AAV-RFP, enhanced cell migration from the SVZ explants on DIV8. AAV-BDNF did not alter the migration of SVZ cells from the hemispheres contralateral to the viral injection (R). *p<0.001, 3- Way ANOVA + post-hoc Newman Keuls test. (C) AAV-BDNF increased BDNF secretion in primary cortical neurons. Rat primary cortical neurons (DIV6) were mock transduced or transduced with AAV-BDNF. Media was collected 2 days after transduction and analyzed for BDNF. Only cells transduced with AAV-BDNF showed significant increases above background (p<0.0001, t-test).