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Rapamycin attenuates aggressive behavior in a rat model of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy.

ABSTRACT: Psychiatric disorders are fairly common comorbidities of epilepsy in humans. Following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE), experimental animals not only developed spontaneous recurrent seizures, but also exhibited significantly elevated levels of aggressive behavior. The cellular and molecular mechanism triggering these behavioral alterations remains unclear. In the present study, we found that aggression is positively correlated with development of spontaneous seizures. Treatment with rapamycin, a potent mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin pathway)-pathway inhibitor, markedly diminished aggressive behavior. Therefore, the mTOR pathway may have significance in the underlying molecular mechanism leading to aggression associated with epilepsy.

SUBMITTER: Huang X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3371158 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rapamycin attenuates aggressive behavior in a rat model of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy.

Huang X X McMahon J J Huang Y Y

Neuroscience 20120420

Psychiatric disorders are fairly common comorbidities of epilepsy in humans. Following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE), experimental animals not only developed spontaneous recurrent seizures, but also exhibited significantly elevated levels of aggressive behavior. The cellular and molecular mechanism triggering these behavioral alterations remains unclear. In the present study, we found that aggression is positively correlated with development of spontaneous seizures. Treatment with ...[more]

PMID: 22522471

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Project description:Temporal lobe epilepsy is a widespread chronic disorder that manifests as spontaneous seizures and is often characterized by refractoriness to drug treatment. Temporal lobe epilepsy can be caused by a primary brain injury; therefore, the prevention of epileptogenesis after a primary event is considered one of the best treatment options. However, a preventive treatment for epilepsy still does not exist. Neuroinflammation is directly involved in epileptogenesis and neurodegeneration, leading to the epileptic condition and cognitive decline. In the present study, we aimed to clarify the effect of treatment with a recombinant form of the Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (anakinra) on epileptogenesis and behavioral impairments in rats using the lithium-pilocarpine model. We found that anakinra administration during the latent phase of the model significantly suppressed the duration and frequency of spontaneous recurrent seizures in the chronic phase. Moreover, anakinra administration prevented some behavioral impairments, including motor hyperactivity and disturbances in social interactions, during both the latent and chronic periods. Histological analysis revealed that anakinra administration decreased neuronal loss in the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus but did not prevent astro- and microgliosis. The treatment increased the expression level of the solute carrier family 1 member 2 gene (Slc1a2, encoding excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2)) in the hippocampus, potentially leading to a neuroprotective effect. However, the increased gene expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes (Interleukin-1? (Il1b) and tumor necrosis factor ? (Tnfa)) and astroglial marker genes (glial fibrillary acidic protein (Gfap) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 2 (Itpr2)) in experimental rats was not affected by anakinra treatment. Thus, our data demonstrate that the administration of anakinra during epileptogenesis has some beneficial disease-modifying effects.

Project description:Profile of GABAergic interneuron activity after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) was examined in the rat hippocampal dentate gyrus by analyzing immediate early gene expression and recording spontaneous firing at near resting membrane potential (REM). SE for exact 2 h or more than 2 h was induced in the male Sprague-Dawley rats by an intraperitoneal injection of pilocarpine. Expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) was examined at 1 h, 1 week, 2 weeks or more than 10 weeks after SE. For animals to be examined at 1 h after SE, SE lasted for exact 2 h was terminated by an intraperitoneal injection of diazepam. Spontaneous firing at near the REM was recorded in interneurons located along the border between the granule cell layer and the hilus more than 10 weeks after SE. Results showed that both c-fos and activity-regulated cytoskeleton associated protein (Arc) in hilar GABAergic interneurons were up-regulated after SE in a biphasic manner; they were increased at 1 h and more than 2 weeks, but not at 1 week after SE. Ten weeks after SE, nearly 60% of hilar GABAergic cells expressed c-fos. With the exception of calretinin (CR)-positive cells, percentages of hilar neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-, neuropeptide Y (NPY)-, parvalbumin (PV)-, and somatostatin (SOM)-positive cells with c-fos expression are significantly higher than those of controls more than 10 weeks after SE. Without the REM to be more depolarizing and changed threshold potential level in SE-induced rats, cell-attached recording revealed that nearly 90% of hilar interneurons fired spontaneously at near the REM while only 22% of the same cell population did so in the controls. In conclusion, pilocarpine-induced SE eventually leads to a state in which surviving dentate GABAergic interneurons become hyperactive with a subtype-dependent manner; this implies that a fragile balance between excitation and inhibition exists in the dentate gyrus and in addition, the activity-dependent up-regulation of IEGs may underlie plastic changes seen in some types of GABAergic cells in the pilocarpine model of epilepsy.

Project description:Ephrin‑B3 is important in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and migration via cell‑cell contact, and can activate the reelin pathway during brain development. However, the effect of ephrin‑B3 on hippocampal neurogenesis and the reelin pathway in epilepsy remains to be fully elucidated. In the present study, the expression of ephrin‑B3 in pilocarpine‑induced status epilepticus (SE) rats was investigated. SYBR Green‑based reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, immunohistochemical labeling and western blot analysis were used to detect the gene and protein expression levels of ephrin‑B3 and reelin pathway proteins. Immunofluorescence staining of doublecortin (DCX) was utilized to analyze hippocampal neurogenesis. The data revealed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of ephrin‑B3 in the hippocampus decreased during the spontaneous seizure period. Of note, the expression of reelin and its downstream phosphorylation disabled 1 (p‑Dab1) were also notably decreased during the spontaneous seizure period, which showed similar dynamic changes as in the expression of ephrin‑B3. In addition, it was found that the number of DCX‑labeled neuronal progenitor cells was increased in the hippocampus following pilocarpine‑induced SE. To further clarify the role of ephrin‑B3 in neurogenesis and the reelin pathway in epilepsy, an exogenous ephrin‑B3 clustering stimulator, EphB3‑Fc, was infused into the bilateral hippocampus of the rats post‑SE. Following EphB3‑Fc injection, it was found that the expression levels of reelin and p‑Dab1 were significantly increased in the epileptic rats following EphB3‑Fc injection. The number of DCX‑labeled neuronal progenitor cells was reduced in the hippocampus of the epileptic rats. Furthermore, the intensity and frequency of spontaneous recurrent seizures and electroencephalographic seizures were attenuated in the epileptic rats post‑injection. These results demonstrated the critical role of ephrin‑B3 in regulation of the reelin pathway and hippocampal neurogenesis in epilepsy, providing experimental evidence that ephrin‑B3 functions as a potential protective factor in epilepsy, at least in animals.

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Rapamycin attenuates aggressive behavior in a rat model of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy.

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Rapamycin attenuates aggressive behavior in a rat model of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy.

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