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(Stroke. 2004;35:2837.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Increased Expression of Hepatocyte Growth Factor in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Intracranial Artery in Moyamoya Disease

From the Department of Neurosurgery (R.N., S.K., T.I., K.H., Y.I.), Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.

Correspondence to Dr Satoshi Kuroda, Department of Neurosurgery, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, North 15 West 7, Kita-Ku, Sapporo 060-8638 Japan. E-mail skuroda{at}med.hokudai.ac.jp

Background and Purpose— The etiology of moyamoya disease still remains unknown. This study was aimed to explore the role of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a strong inducer of angiogenesis, in development of moyamoya disease.

Methods— We studied cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 39 patients with moyamoya disease (24 children and 15 adults), 6 control patients with cervical spondylosis, and 7 control patients with internal carotid artery occlusion. CSF level of HGF was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. We also evaluated the distribution of HGF and its cellular receptor c-Met in the carotid fork obtained from 2 patients with moyamoya disease and 2 control patients.

Results— CSF level of HGF was 408.2±201.6 pg/mL and 443.2±193.5 pg/mL in patients with cervical spondylosis and internal carotid artery occlusion, respectively (mean±SD). On the other hand, CSF level of HGF was 820.3±319.0 pg/mL in patients with moyamoya disease, being significantly higher than those in 2 control groups (P<0.01). Both HGF and c-Met were widely distributed in the media and thickened intima of the carotid fork in patients with moyamoya disease but not in control patients.

Conclusions— This study revealed that HGF is densely found in the carotid fork, and its CSF level is markedly elevated in moyamoya disease, suggesting that HGF may be a key protein for pathogenesis of moyamoya disease.

Key Words: angiogenesis • hepatocyte growth factor • moyamoya disease • protooncogene protein c-met

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