Cerebrolysin improves cognitive performance in rats after mild traumatic brain injury

J Neurosurg. 2015 Apr;122(4):843-55. doi: 10.3171/2014.11.JNS14271. Epub 2015 Jan 23.

Abstract

Object: Long-term memory deficits occur after mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs), and effective treatment modalities are currently unavailable. Cerebrolysin, a peptide preparation mimicking the action of neurotrophic factors, has beneficial effects on neurodegenerative diseases and brain injuries. The present study investigated the long-term effects of Cerebrolysin treatment on cognitive function in rats after mTBI.

Methods: Rats subjected to closed-head mTBI were treated with saline (n = 11) or Cerebrolysin (2.5 ml/kg, n = 11) starting 24 hours after injury and then daily for 28 days. Sham animals underwent surgery without injury (n = 8). To evaluate cognitive function, the modified Morris water maze (MWM) test and a social odor-based novelty recognition task were performed after mTBI. All rats were killed on Day 90 after mTBI, and brain sections were immunostained for histological analyses of amyloid precursor protein (APP), astrogliosis, neuroblasts, and neurogenesis.

Results: Mild TBI caused long-lasting cognitive memory deficits in the MWM and social odor recognition tests up to 90 days after injury. Compared with saline treatment, Cerebrolysin treatment significantly improved both long-term spatial learning and memory in the MWM test and nonspatial recognition memory in the social odor recognition task up to 90 days after mTBI (p < 0.05). Cerebrolysin significantly increased the number of neuroblasts and promoted neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus, and it reduced APP levels and astrogliosis in the corpus callosum, cortex, dentate gyrus, CA1, and CA3 regions (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: These results indicate that Cerebrolysin treatment of mTBI improves long-term cognitive function, and this improvement may be partially related to decreased brain APP accumulation and astrogliosis as well as increased neuroblasts and neurogenesis.

Keywords: APP = amyloid precursor protein; BSA = bovine serum albumin; BrdU = 5′-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine; Cerebrolysin; DCX = doublecortin; GFAP = glial fibrillary acidic protein; MWM = Morris water maze; NeuN = neuronal nuclei; PBS = phosphate-buffered saline; TBI = traumatic brain injury; amyloid precursor protein; cognitive function; mTBI = mild TBI; mild closed head injury; neuroblast; neurogenesis; sAPPα = soluble α form of APP; traumatic brain injury.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acceleration
  • Amino Acids / therapeutic use*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Astrocytes / drug effects
  • Brain / pathology
  • Brain Injuries / complications
  • Brain Injuries / drug therapy*
  • Brain Injuries / psychology*
  • Cell Count
  • Cognition Disorders / drug therapy*
  • Cognition Disorders / etiology
  • Cognition Disorders / psychology*
  • Doublecortin Protein
  • Male
  • Maze Learning / drug effects
  • Neuroprotective Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Psychomotor Performance / drug effects
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Recognition, Psychology / drug effects
  • Social Behavior

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Dcx protein, rat
  • Doublecortin Protein
  • Neuroprotective Agents
  • cerebrolysin