“Our research suggests that VGF plays a key role in healing the brain after stroke, and we may be able to harness this natural process to improve post-stroke recovery.” -Dr. David PickettsDr. David Picketts’ team previously discovered that a nerve growth factor called VGF can help repair certain kinds of brain damage in mice. Now, in a paper published in Experimental Neurology, they found that VGF is needed to heal the brain after stroke. 

Previous studies showed increased levels of VGF in the brain after a stroke. To better understand the role this molecule plays, Dr. Picketts’ team created mice that don’t make VGF. After a stroke, these mice did not recover function of their limbs as well as control mice did, and had fewer immature neurons travel to the damaged area of the brain. When these mice were given VGF via gene therapy, the effects were reversed. 

VGF gene therapy also improved stroke recovery in control mice, suggesting it could be a promising therapy. More research is needed to understand exactly how VGF is doing this, and to determine the best timing, dosage and ways to deliver the therapy.

“Our research suggests that VGF plays a key role in healing the brain after stroke, and we may be able to harness this natural process to improve post-stroke recovery.” -Dr. David Picketts, senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital, professor at the University of Ottawa

Authors: Hannah L. Gillis, Alena Kalinina, Yingben Xue, Keqin Yan, Valérie Turcotte-Cardin, Matthew A.M. Todd, Kevin G. Young, Diane Lagace, David J. Picketts

Core resources:  Animal Behaviour and Physiology Core

Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Heart and Stroke Foundation. All research at The Ottawa Hospital is enabled by generous donors to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.