Increased seizure susceptibility and up-regulation of nNOS expression in hippocampus following recurrent early-life seizures in rats

Lipid metabolites and nitric oxide production in the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin and idiopathic epilepsy: a pilot study

Introduction

Idiopathic epilepsy (IE) and meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO) are common causes of brain diseases leading to seizures in dogs. In this study, the concentrations of 196 lipid metabolites and nitrogen oxide (NO) production in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of dogs with MUO or IE were measured using a LC-MS/MS and a NOx analyzer, respectively.

Methods

Nine clinically healthy dogs and 11 and 12 dogs with IE and MUO, respectively, were included in the study.

Results

Lipid analysis revealed variations in the levels of four and six lipid metabolites in CSF and plasma, respectively, between the groups. The levels of 6-keto-prostaglandin (PG) F1α (PGF1α), 20-carboxy arachidonic acid (20-carboxy-AA), 9-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid, and lyso-platelet-activating factor were high in the CSF of dogs with MUO. In addition, the plasma levels of 11,12-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid, 20-carboxy-AA, and oleoylethanolamide were high in dogs with IE, and those of PGF1α were high in dogs with MUO. NO production levels were high in CSF but not in plasma in dogs with MUO or IE.

Discussion

It remains unknown whether these changes represent the cause or effect of diseases of the central nervous system; however, lipid metabolites and NO production in CSF and plasma may be used as diagnostic biomarkers and could be exploited for treating idiopathic or inflammatory epilepsy in dogs.

Influences of hyperthermia-induced seizures on learning, memory and phosphorylative state of CaMKIIα in rat hippocampus

Febrile seizure (FS) remains the most common childhood neurological emergency. Although many studies have been done, controversy exists as to whether these seizures are associated with a significant risk for cognitive impairment. The aim of our study is to check whether there is a spatial learning and memory deficit in the experimental FS rats using a heated-air FS paradigm and to determine the possible molecular mechanism of cognitive impairment. On days 10 to 12 postpartum, the male rat pups were subjected to one, three, or nine episodes of brief hyperthermia-induced seizures (HS). At adolescence and adulthood, the rats subjected to three, or nine episodes of HS had significant deficits in spatial learning and memory tested by Morris water maze. At adulthood, no apparent hippocampal neuronal loss was found in any HS group, but the seizure threshold to flurothyl was decreased significantly in the rats subjected to nine episodes of HS. In the rats subjected to three, or nine episodes of HS, the Western immunoblotting showed that there was a significant translocation of Ca(2+)-calmodulin stimulated protein kinase II (CaMKII) from the postsynaptic density to the cytosol. In the postsynaptic density the phosphorylation of CaMKIIα Thr(286) was reduced significantly, but the phosphorylation of CaMKIIα Thr(305) was increased significantly. Our study showed early-life brief but recurrent HS caused long-term cognitive impairment and CaMKIIα was involved in carrying forward the signal resulting from HS. The change of the phosphorylative level in Thr(286) and Thr(305) sites of CaMKIIα may underlie the molecular mechanism for the HS related cognitive impairment.

N (w) -propyl-L-arginine (L-NPA) reduces status epilepticus and early epileptogenic events in a mouse model of epilepsy: behavioural, EEG and immunohistochemical analyses

We investigated the anticonvulsant and neurobiological effects of a highly selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor, N (w) -propyl-l-arginine (L-NPA), on kainic acid (KA)-induced status epilepticus (SE) and early epileptogenesis in C57BL/6J mice. SE was induced with 20 mg/kg KA (i.p.) and seizures terminated after 2 h with diazepam (10 mg/kg, i.p). L-NPA (20 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle was administered 30 min before KA. Behavioural seizure severity was scored using a modified Racine score and electrographic seizure was recorded using an implantable telemetry device. Neuronal activity, activity-dependent synaptogenesis and reactive gliosis were quantified immunohistochemically, using c-Fos, synaptophysin and microglial and astrocytic markers. L-NPA treatment reduced the severity and duration of convulsive motor seizures, the power of electroencephalogram in the gamma band, and the frequency of epileptiform spikes during SE. It also reduced c-Fos expression in dentate granule cells at 2 h post-KA, and reduced the overall rate of epileptiform spiking (by 2- to 2.5-fold) in the first 7 days after KA administration. Furthermore, treatment with L-NPA suppressed both hippocampal gliosis and activity-dependent synaptogenesis in the outer and middle molecular layers of the dentate gyrus in the early phase of epileptogenesis (72 h post-KA). These results suggest that nNOS facilitates seizure generation during SE and may be important for the neurobiological changes associated with the development of chronic epilepsy, especially in the early stages of epileptogenesis. As such, it might represent a novel target for disease modification in epilepsy.