Expression of BDNF and GDNF in brain of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder rats

Abstract

Objective To observe the changes of protein and mRNA expression levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) and glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF) in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) model animal, and to explore the relationship between BDNF, GDNF and ADHD. Methods Junior spontsneously hyoertensive rat(SHR) rats were used as ADHD model group and Wistar Kyoto rats(WKY) as control group.The protein and mRNA expression levels of BDNF and GDNF in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum were detected by Western blot and RT-PCR methods. Results The expression of BDNF and GDNF protein was (0.561±0.095) and (0.507±0.155) in the prefrontal cortex, (0.606±0.054) and (0.457±0.198) in hippocampus and (0.558±0.191) and (0.554±0.267) in striatum of SHR rats.The expression of BDNF and GDNF protein of WKY rats were (0.855±0.211) and (0.891±0.244) in the prefrontal cortex, (0.827±0.163) and (0.898±0.207) in hippocampus and (0.998±0.220) and (0.955±0.146) in striatum.The expression of BDNF and GDNF mRNA was (0.636±0.141) and (0.544±0.161) in the prefrontal cortex, (0.996±0.196) and (0.563±0.302) in hippocampus and (0.664±0.145) and (0.689±0.049) in striatum of SHR rats.The expression of BDNF and GDNF mRNA of WKY rats were (0.861±0.232) and (0.840±0.124) in prefrontal cortex, (1.372±0.423) and (1.180±0.441) in hippocampus, and (1.107±0.185) and (0.950±0.247) in striatum.The protein and mRNA expression levels of BDNF and GDNF in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum of ADHD rats were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion The low expression of BDNF and GDNF in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum of SHR rats may be related to the pathophysiology of ADHD. Key words: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Spontsneously hyoertensive rat; Brain derived neurotrophic factor; Glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor