Background and Aim of work:
Stress and its related comorbid diseases are responsible for many liver pathologies.
Nestin, a protein detected in a wide range of progenitor cells, was
implicated
in hepatic remodeling. Moreover, vascular endothelial growth
factor
(VEGF) is involved in vessel repair. The aim of this study was to evaluate
the effect of chronic restrain stress (CRS) on expression of hepatic
VEGF
and Nestin.
Materials
and methods:
Twelve
male rats were divided into two groups; negative control and CRS.
Animals
of CRS were restrained individually in ventilated glass tube restrainers
daily for 6 hours/day for 3 weeks. The liver samples were stained
by
hematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome and immunohistochemical
staining
for Nestin and VEGF with morphometric analysis.
Results: Exposure
to chronic restraint stress for 3 weeks caused hepatic inflammation,
deposition of collagen. Immunohistochemical staining showed a coinciding
significantly higher positive reaction for VEGF and Nestin in the CRS
group. Conclusion: Vascular
endothelial growth factor and Nestin immunohistochemical staining
were both increased in chronic restraint-induced hepatic stress coinciding
with the induced increase in hepatic inflammation, deposition of collagen.
Nestin & VEGF expressions were strongly correlated. This may be due
to that the Nestin is expressed in the new endothelial cells and is responsible
for their migration after the stress induced hepatic injury. However, the
regulatory relationship between Nestin and VEGF is still not clear.