Basic fibroblast growth factor ameliorates rotational behavior of substantia nigral-transplanted rats with lesions of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was injected with dissociated substantia nigral cells into the striatum of rats prepared by unilateral lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway with 6-hydroxydopamine. The transplanted cells with 5 and 50 ng bFGF reduced the apomorphine-induced rotations by 40 and 30%, respectively, while the decrement of rotations was only 15% in the grafted control without bFGF. Immunohistochemical staining with anti-tyrosine hydroxylase antibody showed that bFGF also tended to increase the number of grafted catecholaminergic neurons along the tracts. In the case of 50 ng bFGF treatment but not 0 or 5 ng bFGF treatment, however, severe gliosis was detected along the grafted region by staining of anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein antibody. These immunohistochemical studies suggested that high-dose bFGF induced extensive gliosis, which might affect the survival of the grafted neurons.