Diphenylhydantoin and potassium transport in isolated nerve terminals

Diphenylhydantoin promotes proliferation in the subventricular zone and dentate gyrus

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Diphenylhydantoin (phenytoin) is an antiepileptic drug that generates hyperplasia in some tissue by stimulating Epidermal Growth Factor (EGFR) and Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta (PDGFR-β) receptors and by increasing serum levels of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, FGF2 or FGF-β). Neural stem cells in the adult brain have been isolated from three regions: the Subventricular Zone (SVZ) lining the lateral wall of the lateral ventricles, the Subgranular Zone (SGZ) in the dentate gyrus at the hippocampus and the Subgranular Zone (SZC) lining between the hippocampus and the corpus callosum. Neural stem cells actively respond to bFGF, PDGFR-β or EGF by increasing their proliferation, survival and differentiation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of phenytoin on proliferation and apoptosis in the three neurogenic niches in the adult brain.

APPROACH

We orally administrated phenytoin with an oropharyngeal cannula for 30 days: 0 mg kg^-1 (controls), 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 mg kg^-1. To label proliferative cells, three injections of 100 mg kg^-1 of BrdU was administrated every 12 h. Immunohistochemistry against BrdU or Caspase-3 active were performed to determine the number of proliferative or apoptotic cells.

RESULTS

Our results showed that phenytoin induces proliferation in the SVZ and the SGZ in a dose-dependent manner. No statistically significant effects on cell proliferation in the SCZ neither in the apoptosis rate at the SVZ, SGZ and SCZ were found.

CONCLUSION

These data indicate that phenytoin promotes a dose-dependent proliferation in the SVZ and SGZ of the adult brain. The clinical relevance of these findings remain to be elucidated.

In vivo and in vitro effects of phenytoin (PHT) on ATPases and [14C]-PHT binding in synaptosomes and mitochondria from rat cerebral cortex

The effect of phenytoin (PHT) on Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Mg(2+)-ATPase activities and on [14C]-PHT binding in vitro to synaptosomal and mitochondrial subcellular fractions from rat cerebral cortex was studied after chronic PHT treatment. Synaptosomal and mitochondrial fractions were characterized with plasma membrane and mitochondrial enzymatic markers. Synaptosomal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase was not affected in vitro by PHT 1-200 microM or by chronic treatment with 2-50 mg/kg/day of the unlabeled drug for 8 days. Mitochondrial Mg(2+)-ATPase was significantly stimulated by PHT after chronic treatment with 5 mg/kg/day for 8 days; reaching maximal effect (76%), at 10-25 mg/kg. PHT had no effect on mitochondrial Mg(2+)-ATPase when added in vitro. [14C]-PHT binding in vitro to the subcellular fractions was determined by dialysis to assess in vivo binding of the unlabeled PHT during chronic treatment. Indeed, [14C]-PHT bound to synaptosomes was significantly reduced by chronic PHT treatment from 218 +/- 10 to 119 +/- 11 pmol/mg protein after 1 week of treatment; a similar effect was obtained after 2-3 weeks with 10 mg/kg/day. Mitochondrial fraction bound 117 +/- 10 pmol/mg protein labeled PHT. Chronic treatment with unlabeled PHT also reduced the amount of [14C]-PHT bound to 19.9 +/- 2.2 pmol/mg protein. These results show slow reversible PHT in vivo binding to synaptosomes and mitochondrias from rat cerebral cortex, supporting the idea that the modulatory action of PHT on Na+ and Ca2+ permeabilities are mediated through these slow reversible binding proteins. The data also suggest a possible role of intrasynaptosomal mitochondria in [Ca2+]i buffering.

Phenytoin dephosphorylates the catalytic subunit of the (Na+,K+)-ATPase in C57/BL mice

The effects of phenytoin, a potent antiepileptic drug, on the active transport of cations within membranes remain controversial. To assess the direct effects of phenytoin on the Na+,K+ pump, we studied the drug's influence on the phosphorylation of partially purified (Na+,K+)-ATPase from mouse brain. (Na+,K+)-ATPase subunits were resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Phenytoin, in vitro, decreased net phosphorylation of the (Na+,K+)-ATPase catalytic subunit in a dose-dependent manner (approximately 50% at 10(-4) M). When the conversion of E1-P to E2-P, e.g., the two major phosphorylated conformational states of (Na+,K+)-ATPase, was blocked by oligomycin or N-ethylmaleimide, phenytoin had no effect. The results suggest that phenytoin acts on the phosphatasic component of the reaction cycle, decreasing the phosphorylation level of the enzyme.

Studies on the effects of acetylcholine and antiepileptic drugs on 32PI incorporation into phospholipids of rat brain synaptosomes

Studies were conducted on the effects of antiepileptic drugs on the acetylcholine-stimulated 32P labeling of phospholipids in rat brain synaptosomes. Of the four antiepileptic drugs investigated in the present study, namely phenytoin, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, and valproate, only phenytoin blocked the acetylcholine-stimulated 32P labeling of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid, and the acetylcholine-stimulated breakdown of polyphosphoinositides. Phenytoin alone, like atropine alone, had no effect on the 32P labeling of phospholipids nor on the specific radioactivity of [32P]ATP. Omission of Na+ drastically reduced both the 32P labeling of synaptosomal phospholipids and the specific radioactivity of [32P]ATP and furthermore it significantly decreased the phosphoinositide effect. It was concluded that certain antiepileptic drugs, such as phenytoin, could exert their pharmacological actions through their antimuscarinic effects. In addition the finding that phenytoin, which acts to regulate NA+ and Ca2+ permeability of neuronal membranes, also inhibited the phosphoinositide effects in synaptosomes, support the conclusions that Ca2+ and Na+ are probably involved in the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon in excitable tissues.U

Studies on distribution and metabolism of valproate in rat brain, liver, and kidney

Time-course studies on the distribution and metabolism of valproate (VPA) in rat brain, liver, and kidney, after intraperitoneal injection of a mixture of [14C]VPA and [3H]VPA, showed that: (1) maximal amount of radioactivity in the various tissues was observed after 30 min from the time the drug was administered; (2) at 30 min the distribution of labeled VPA in brain, liver, and kidney was 17%, 64%, and 19% of the total radioactivity, respectively; (3) at 24 hr more than 97% of the total radioactivity was lost from the tissues and the 14C/3H ratios increased significantly with time. Studies on the regional distribution of the drug showed that it is relatively homogeneously distributed. Studies on the subcellular distribution of the drug showed that it is associated mostly with the soluble and mitochondrial fractions, with little radioactivity in the myelin and symaptosomal fractions. Radiochromatography of VPA metabolites in perchloric acid extracts from brain, liver, and kidney revealed the presence of four metabolites. VPA was not incorporated into phospholipids of the neuronal membranes. Furthermore, it had no significant effects on Mg2+-ATPase and (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in synaptosomes and microsomes obtained either from control or from rats injected with VPA. It was concluded that this antiepileptic drug does not appear to act through its incorporation into neuronal membrane or through its action of the Na+ pump.

Acetylcholine esterase sensitivity to chronic administration of diphenylhydantoin and effects on cerebral enzymatic activities related to energy metabolism

The effect of chronic treatment (8 months) with diphenylhydantoin (DPH) on rat brain was studied. The activity of some enzymes related to energy transduction (lactate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and malate dehydrogenase; NADH-cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome oxidase) and neurotransmission (acetylcholine esterase) was evaluated both in the whole brain homogenate and/or in the crude mitochondrial fraction. A clear-cut decrease of acetylcholine esterase activity was observed, the decrease continuing even after treatment was discontinued. Effects on energy metabolism and on lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, and cytochrome oxidase are discussed.

The freezing lesion. III. The effects of diphenylhydantoin on potassium transport within nerve terminals from the primary foci

Possible mechanisms by which dephenylhydantoin (DPH) controls seizures were examined. The effects of intraperitoneal DPH on seizure discharges within epileptogenic freeze lesions were correlated with DPH action on in vitro potassium uptake within synaptosomes isolated from the same freeze foci. When in vivo DPH suppressed seizure discharges, it stimulated in vitro potassium uptake within synaptosomes incubated in a high-Kplus (10 mM) media. With 2-5 mM Naplus and 10mM Kplus, DPH stimulation of synaptosome potassium uptake was reversed by ouabain. With 50 mM Naplus and 10 mM Kplus, DPH stimulation of potassium uptake was not reversed by ouabain. In low-Kplus (0.2-5 mM) media, DPH did not affect potassium uptake even when sodium concentrations were varied at 10-100 mM. In sham-operated controls and in non-epileptogenic lesions, the effects of DPH on synaptosome potassium uptake were identical to those previously reported in normal brains. These results strongly suggest that DPH controls the epileptogenic state by stimulating potassium uptake within synaptic terminals. DPH controls the epileptogenic state by stimulating potassium uptake within synaptic terminals. DPH enhances synaptic potassium uptake by stimulating the (Naplus-Kplus) pump and a second potassium uptake process which is insensitive to ouabain.