Basic fibroblast growth factor enhances axonal sprouting after cortical injury in rats

THE trophic factors responsible for initiating and guiding the outgrowth of axons hare proven to be elusive throughout most of this century. Entorhina l cortex injury, which denervates the hippocampal formation of rats, induce s axonal sprouting by several surviving hippocampal afferents and results i n a significant elevation of growth factors, one of which is basic fibrobla st growth factor (bFGF). The possibility that bFGF may regulate lesion-indu ced hippocampal sprouting was examined by making i.v. bFGF infusions into r ats with unilateral entorhinal lesions. Basic FGF treatment significantly i ncreased sprouting by the cholinergic septodentate pathway. Thus, the incre ase in bFGF following central nervous system injury may signal its role in the regulation of injury-related axonal remodeling of a. cholinergic pathwa y. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.