Expression and phosphorylation of eIF4E by intravenous administration of hepatocyte growth factor in the cerebral cortex.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a broad spectrum growth factor able to stimulate DNA synthesis. It has neurotrophic activities in different types of neurons. HGF promotes the survival, proliferation and migration of different cell types. The synthesis and modification of proteins play key roles in neural plasticity and brain development. Cell proliferation is accompanied by increased rates of protein synthesis. Eukaryote translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) plays a key role in translation regulation and it has been suggested that it is implicated in increased protein synthesis promoted by growth factors. In this study the effects of intravenous HGF administration on total concentration of protein and the eIF4E expression and phosphorylation in the cerebral cortex have been investigated. HGF was administered intravenous into the mouse pups. The relative eIF4E expression and phosphorylation have been studied using western blotting and isoelectric focusing. A significant increase in the total protein concentration, eIF4E expression and phosphorylation was seen in HGFinjected cortical samples as compared to those from the control group. It is suggested that HGF regulates protein synthesis in the cerebral cortex by increasing eIF4E expression and phosphorylation.