Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in the Rat Brain after Perinatal Hypoxia and Pharmacological Correction

—We studied the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in post-hypoxic damage of the rat brain and in the effect of saliphene, a GABA derivative that is considered as a potential neuroprotector. The method of quantitative immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of VEGF in the rat brain (neocortex and hippocampus) at the early and late periods after perinatal hypoxia and the subsequent administration of saliphene. Hypoxia resulted in an increase in the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in the developing rat brain, and injections of saliphene prevented an increase in VEGF expression, leaving this index at the level of the control values. Thus, the changes the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the rat brain after perinatal hypoxia may be considered as a marker of the neuroprotective effect of saliphene.