The influence of cationic liposome-mediated APOE2 gene transfer on brain structural changes after experimental traumatic brain injury

Abstract

The possibilities to prevent the evolution of structural changes caused by secondary damage after traumatic brain injury by means of gene therapy aimed at the induction of apoE2 synthesis in brain tissue were studied. Traumatic brain injury in rats was inflicted under an overall anesthesia by free falling load weighing 450 g, falling from a 1.5 m elevation. The mixture of DOTAP liposome and 25 μg of plasmid vector pCMV•SPORT6 with cDNA of APOE2 gene was infused intraventricularly. At day 10 after traumatic brain injury the histological examination of brain tissue was performed. Cationic liposome-mediated APOE2 gene transfer protected the brain parenchyma and vascular system and prevented the evolution of secondary injuries in damaged brain.

Keywords

• traumatic brain injury
• gene therapy
• apoE2
• plasmid vector
• cationic liposome