IMR Press / FBE / Volume 2 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.2741/E209

Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Intranasal delivery of calcitonin gene-related peptide reduces cerebral vasospasm in rats
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1 Key Laboratory of Cerebral Microcirculation at the Universities of Shandong, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Taishan Medical College, Taian, Shandong 271000, China
2 Longnan Hospital, Daqing Oil Field General Hospital Group, Daqing, Heilongjiang 163001, China
3 Department of Neurology, Central Hospital of Jining, Jining, Shandong 272000, China
4 Department of Neurology, Central Hospital of Binzhou, Binzhou, Shandong 251700, China
5 Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Taishan Medical College, Taian, Shandong 271000, China
6 Department of Neurology and Center for Cerebrovascular Disease Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
Front. Biosci. (Elite Ed) 2010, 2(4), 1502–1513; https://doi.org/10.2741/E209
Published: 1 June 2010
Abstract

Cerebral vasospasm is the primary cause of sequelae and poor clinical conditions of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH); therefore, it is imperative to relieve vasospasm and improve cerebral blood supply. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a potent vasodilator that is normally released by trigeminal sensory fibers but depleted following SAH. We propose that intranasal application may be an effective way to deliver CGRP to the brain and ameliorate vasospasm after SAH. In this study, we intranasally applied CGRP to rats and induced SAH by double-injection of autologous blood into the cisterna magna. Compared to intravenous injection, intranasal delivery led to a 10-fold higher level of CGRP in the brain. Intranasal CGRP significantly ameliorated vasospasm, improved cerebral blood flow, and reduced cortical and endothelial cell death. Moreover, CGRP increased the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and stimulated angiogenesis. Altogether, our data demonstrate that intranasal CGRP delivery is a promising method for moderating vasospasm and reducing the associated ischemic brain injury after SAH in rats, and suggest that it may be a potential approach in clinic.

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