TY - JOUR ID - 40390 TI - Neural Stem Cell-based Intraocular Administration of Pigment Epithelium-derived Factor Promotes Retinal Ganglion Cell Survival and Axon Regeneration after Optic Nerve Crush Injury in Rat: An Experimental Study JO - Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences JA - IJMS LA - en SN - 0253-0716 AU - Zhang, Wei-Min AU - Zhang, Zhi-Ren AU - Zhang, Yong-Gang AU - Gao, Yan-Sheng AD - Department of Neurosurgery, Zhumadian Central Hospital, Zhumadian, China AD - Department of Medical Administration, Zhumadian Central Hospital, Zhumadian, China Y1 - 2016 PY - 2016 VL - 41 IS - 5 SP - 382 EP - 390 KW - Pigment epithelium-derived factor KW - Neural stem cells KW - Optic nerve DO - N2 - Background: Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is regarded as a multifunctional protein possessing neurotrophic and neuroprotective properties. PEDF has a very short half-life, and it would require multiple injections to maintain a therapeutically relevant level without a delivery system. However, multiple injections are prone to cause local damage or infection. To overcome this, we chose a cell-based system that provided sustained delivery of PEDF and compared the effect of weekly injections of PEDF and neural stem cell (NSC)-based intraocular administration of PEDF on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival and axon regeneration after optic nerve injury.Methods: Seventy-two rats were randomly assigned to 3 groups: group with injections of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (n=24), group with weekly injections of PEDF (n=24), and group with NSC-based administration of PEDF (n=24). Western blot was used to analyze the PEDF protein level 2 weeks after injection. Retinal flat mounts and immunohistochemistry were employed to analyze RGC survival and axon regeneration 2 weeks and 4 weeks after injection. The data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA in SPSS (version 19.0). A p UR - https://ijms.sums.ac.ir/article_40390.html L1 - https://ijms.sums.ac.ir/article_40390_f0b3157ab13bfa799fc69620f4858560.pdf ER -