title: The 27-kDa heat shock protein (HSP27) is a reliable hippocampal marker of full development of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) in rodents provides a valuable animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Since not all animals enter SE following pilocarpine injection, we aimed to find a biomarker for full development of pilocarpine-induced SE using a proteomic approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis were performed with protein extracts from hippocampal tissue taken from four different groups of animals: pilocarpine-treated rats with full development of SE, pilocarpine-treated rats without seizures, pilocarpine-treated rats with seizures but without SE, and saline-injected rats.
  
  
  RESULTS
  2D gel electrophoresis revealed two protein spots which were only present after full development of pilocarpine-induced SE, but neither in gels from pilocarpine-treated rats without seizures nor in those of saline-injected animals. The protein in both spots was identified as the small 27-kDa heat shock protein (HSP27) by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Subsequent Western blot analyses confirmed that HSP27 immunoreactivity was only observed with the hippocampal protein extracts in the status epilepticus group, but in none of the other groups. Furthermore, immunocytochemistry showed that HSP27 expression following pilocarpine-induced SE was localized in astrocytes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We propose that HSP27 is a highly sensitive and specific hippocampal marker for full development of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus.
authors.affiliation: Oscar Langendorff Institute of Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Rostock, Gertrudenstrasse 9, 18057 Rostock, Germany. timo.kirschstein@uni-rostock.de
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kirschstein
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mikkat
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mikkat
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bender
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kreutzer
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Köhling
authors.forename: Michael O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Glocker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055551:HSP27 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010862:Pilocarpine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D055551:HSP27 Heat-Shock Proteins; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D010862:Pilocarpine