G-CSF enhances stem cell proliferation in rat hippocampus after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) enhances the survival and stimulates the proliferation of neutrophil progenitors. Recently, the neurogenerative effect of G-CSF has been intensely investigated. In this study, we explored the possibility that G-CSF enhanced the cell proliferation in the rat dentate gyrus (DG) after focal cerebral ischemia, using a rat transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) model. At 7 days after tMCAO, the number of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive cells in the G-CSF-treated group was significantly increased compared with that in the vehicle-treated group in the ipsilateral SGZ (16.6 ± 5.5/mm² in the vehicle-treated group versus 33.0 ± 7.2/mm² in the G-CSF-treated group, **p < 0.01) and in the ipsilateral GCL (14.2 ± 2.8/mm² in the vehicle-treated group versus 21.0 ± 3.8/mm² in the G-CSF-treated group, *p < 0.05). This result showed the possibility of a neurogenerative role of G-CSF after tMCAO in rats.