Delayed epileptogenesis in nociceptin/orphanin FQ-deficient mice.
The neuropeptide nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) is implicated in many biological functions, including nociception, locomotor activity, stress and anxiety, drinking and food-intake. N/OFQ has also been reported to play a facilitatory role in acute kainate-induced seizures. The aim of the present study was to investigate its involvement in a chronic model of temporal lobe epilepsy, kindling epileptogenesis, using N/OFQ knock-out mice and their wild-type littermates as controls. Kindling development was retarded in N/OFQ-deficient mice, in that (compared with controls) they required a significantly greater number of stimulations and a significantly longer time in electrical seizures to reach kindling criteria. These data indicate that N/OFQ is involved in the development of kindling and that it may play a pro-epileptogenic role.
Binaschi
Anna
A
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pharmacology, and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
Zucchini
Silvia
S
Bregola
Gianni
G
Rodi
Donata
D
Mazzuferi
Manuela
M
Reinscheid
Rainer K
RK
Simonato
Michele
M
D000818:Animals; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000378:metabolism; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018846:Excitatory Amino Acids / Q000819:agonists; D007696:Kindling, Neurologic / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D018847:Opioid Peptides / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D000097629:Nociceptin
D018846:Excitatory Amino Acids; D018847:Opioid Peptides; D000097629:Nociceptin