Abstract
The neurological deficit in peripheral nerves is one of the major complications associated with diabetes. Deprivation of trophic factors may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy while restored expression of neurotrophic factors could ameliorate such sensory abnormalities. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent neurotrophic factor that effectively prevents neuronal death and restores the synapse conduction during trauma of central nervous system. In the present study, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of GDNF gene delivery for neuropathy in diabetic rats. After injection of streptozotocin for 14 days, a reduction in nerve conduction velocity (NCV) with a concomitant increment in H-reflex was detected in diabetic rats by electrophysiological studies. Single, intramuscular (IM) injection of adenovirus encoding GDNF (Ad-GDNF) led to systemic GDNF expression for at least 35 days. Besides, the declined GDNF level in sciatic nerve was also restored by GDNF gene delivery. After gene delivery for 2-4 weeks, Ad-GDNF-treated rats exhibited a significant increment in NCV (P<0.05) and a concomitant decrease in H-reflex latency (P<0.05) comparing with animals of control groups. IM GDNF gene delivery was well tolerant to diabetic rats without affecting their biochemical parameters Therefore, peripheral GDNF gene delivery may hold potential for treatment of diabetic neuropathy.
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