Experimental evaluation of the therapeutic potential of liposome-mediated apoe3 gene transfection for cerebral atherosclerosis

Introduction: In recent years, a stroke has been the cause of high lethality, long-term and sustained disability, the problem of which is still far from being resolved. The root cause of stroke is atherosclerosis. The aim: Study of neurotrophic and neuroprotective functions of apoE in rat brain tissue in experimental atherosclerosis. Materials and methods: The study included 60 sexually mature rats. The model of experimental atherosclerosis was created by Anichkov method. The experimental animals were divided into 3 groups: control, experimental and a group of animals with experimental atherosclerosis with intrapoly gene apolipoprotein E (apoE) 50 μg of DNA per animal injected on the 1st day of atherosclerosis modeling. Results: Morphological study of cortex in III and V layers in animals with experimental atherosclerosis showed a quantitative and qualitative changes in cellular composition. Neurons had atrophic and destructive changes as well as karyopicnose and carriolysis, nucleoli often were not imagined. Reduced number of normochromic cells (up to 50%), hypochromic cells (up to 4%), double increased number of hyperchromic neurons (up to 10%), prominently hyperchromic neurocytes (up to 20%) and prominently hypochromic neurocytes (up to 10%), non-nucleated cells, so called «shadow cells» were observed. Experimental atherosclerosis led to a significant increase in neuroglial layers, an increase in the diameter of vascular lumen due to thickening of the inner and middle layers. Gene therapy had a pronounced neuroprotective effect, led to the restoration of the quantitative and qualitative composition of the neurons, reduction of vessels diameter. Conclusions: Experimental cholesterol loading leads to pronounced dystrophy of cells of the sensorimotor layer in rat cerebral cortex. The obtained data confirm the positive preventive effect of gene transfection on the qualitative and quantitative cellular composition and the state of the vascular bed of rat cerebral cortex. The further prospective study is needed.