Beecher Kate, Hafner Louise M, Ekberg Jenny, St John James A, Chehrehasa Fatemeh
School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Box 2434, QLD; Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Rd, Nathan, Australia.
School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Box 2434, QLD; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia.
Neural Regen Res. 2018 Oct;13(10):1820-1826. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.238713.
The olfactory receptor neurons lining the nasal cavity have a remarkable capacity to regenerate throughout life. They are replenished continuously and their axons make new connections within the olfactory bulb. However, some factors such as head trauma and skull base surgery damage the olfactory nerve which lead to olfactory dysfunction. Losing the sense of smell has considerable effects on quality of life and life-expectancy. Therefore, there is a clear need to find a treatment for olfactory dysfunction. One such potential treatment is growth factor therapy which showed promising results in the spinal cord and brain injuries. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether combined delivery of two growth factors, vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor treatment can improve the olfactory neurons regeneration in mice. The degeneration of the olfactory neurons was induced by unilateral bulbectomy. The treatment group received 1.5 µg of the combined growth factors intranasally, while the control injured group received saline. Growth factor treatment significantly increased the number of immature neurons at 5 and 7 days post injury and also the number of mature olfactory neurons at 10 and 14 days post bulbectomy. Regenerating axons extended over a larger volume in the operated cavity in the treatment group compared to control group at 14 days post bulbectomy. The growth factor treatment also significantly reduced astrocytic glia scar in the operated cavity. The results indicate that the combined delivery of the growth factors has the potential to improve olfactory dysfunction.
鼻腔内的嗅觉受体神经元在一生中具有显著的再生能力。它们不断得到补充，其轴突在嗅球内建立新的连接。然而，诸如头部创伤和颅底手术等一些因素会损伤嗅神经，导致嗅觉功能障碍。嗅觉丧失对生活质量和预期寿命有相当大的影响。因此，显然需要找到一种治疗嗅觉功能障碍的方法。一种这样的潜在治疗方法是生长因子疗法，它在脊髓和脑损伤方面显示出有希望的结果。本研究的目的是调查血管内皮生长因子和血小板衍生生长因子这两种生长因子的联合递送是否能改善小鼠嗅神经元的再生。通过单侧嗅球切除诱导嗅神经元变性。治疗组经鼻给予1.5微克联合生长因子，而对照损伤组给予生理盐水。生长因子治疗在损伤后5天和7天显著增加了未成熟神经元的数量，在嗅球切除后10天和14天也增加了成熟嗅神经元的数量。与对照组相比，在嗅球切除后14天，治疗组再生轴突在手术腔内延伸的范围更大。生长因子治疗还显著减少了手术腔内星形胶质细胞胶质瘢痕。结果表明，生长因子的联合递送有可能改善嗅觉功能障碍。
