AAV-mediated delivery of BDNF augments neurogenesis in the normal and quinolinic acid-lesioned adult rat brain

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a major role in regulating the survival and fate of progenitor cells in the adult brain. In order to extend previous observations in the normal adult brain and advance our knowledge regarding the effect of BDNF on neurogenesis in the injured brain, this study directly compared the effect of BDNF on basal and injury‐induced neurogenesis in relation to progenitor cell distribution and levels of neuronal differentiation and survival. BDNF was overexpressed in the subventricular zone (SVZ) via recombinant adeno‐associated virus (AAV1/2) delivery, and newly generated cells were identified using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling. Selective striatal cell loss was induced in a subgroup of rats by unilateral striatal injection of quinolinic acid (QA) 21 days after AAV1/2 injection. In the normal brain, BDNF overexpression significantly increased BrdU‐positive cell numbers in the rostral migratory stream, indicating enhanced progenitor cell migration. Following QA lesioning, we observed a reduction in BrdU immunoreactivity in the SVZ. Overexpression of BDNF restored BrdU‐positive cell numbers in the QA‐lesioned SVZ to that observed in the normal brain. Most significantly, BDNF enhanced the recruitment of progenitor cells to the QA‐lesioned striatum and promoted neuronal differentiation in both the normal and QA‐lesioned striatum. Our findings indicate that BDNF augments the recruitment, neuronal differentiation and survival of progenitor cells in both neurogenic and non‐neurogenic regions of the normal or QA‐lesioned brain. Enhanced expression of BDNF may therefore be a viable strategy for augmenting neurogenesis from endogenous progenitor cells.