The expression and clinical significance of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in patients with traumatic brain injury

Objective To investigate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their clinical significance. Methods Peripheral blood and brain tissue samples were obtained from 60 TBI patients. According to the GCS score, 60 TBI patients were divided into the moderate damage group, the severe damage group and the especially severe damage group. According to the different time points after the injury, the patients were divided into 72 hours group. The 60 control brain tissue samples were obtained from patients with cerebral aneurysms and undergoing craniotomy at the same time; and control peripheral blood were collected from 60 healthy people. The levels of HIF-1α were measured with RT-PCR and Western blot. One-way ANOVA and t-test were used to analyze the results with SPSS 18.0. Results The expression of HIF-1α in the control group [peripheral blood: HIF-1α mRNA (0.35±0.12), HIF-1α protein (0.28±0.06); brain tissue: HIF-1α mRNA (0.65±0.08), HIF-1α protein (0.78±0.08)] was obviously lower than those in the TBI groups, and the differences were statistically significant (P 72 h group, 6-24 h group and <6 h group (P<0.05). Conclusions The expression of HIF-1α is closely related to the severity of TBI and may play an important role in the progress of TBI. Key words: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α; Traumatic brain injury; Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction; Western blot