title: Effects of pentylenetetrazole kindling on mitogen-activated protein kinases levels in neocortex and hippocampus of mice.
abstract: The epileptogenesis process involves cell signaling events associated with neuroplasticity. The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) integrate signals originating from a variety of extracellular stimuli and may regulate cell differentiation, survival, cell death and synaptic plasticity. Here we compared the total and phosphorylated MAPKs (ERK1/2, JNK1/2 and p38(MAPK)) levels in the neocortex and hippocampus of adult Swiss male mice quantified by western blotting analysis 48 h after the last injection of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), according to the kindling protocol (35 mg/kg, i.p., on alternated days, with a total of eight injections). The total levels of the investigated MAPKs and the phospho-p38(MAPK) in the neocortex and hippocampus were not affected by the PTZ injections. The MAPKs phosphorylation levels remain unaltered in PTZ-treated animals without convulsive seizures. The phospho-JNK2 phosphorylation, but not the phospho-JNK1, was increased in the hippocampus of PTZ-treated animals showing 1-3 days with convulsive seizures, whereas no significant changes were observed in those animals with more than 3 days with convulsive seizures. The phospho-ERK1/2 phosphorylation decreased in the neocortex and increased in the hippocampus of animals with 1-4 days with convulsive seizures and became unaltered in mice that showed convulsive seizures for more than 4 days. These findings indicate that resistance to PTZ kindling is associated with unaltered ERK1/2, JNK1/2 and p38(MAPK) phosphorylation levels in the neocortex and hippocampus. Moreover, when the PTZ kindling-induced epileptogenesis manifests behaviorally, the activation of the different MAPKs sub-families shows a variable and non-linear pattern in the neocortex and hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ben
authors.forename: Paulo Alexandre
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Filipe Marques
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Tanara Vieira
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Peres
authors.forename: Filipe Carvalho
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Matheus
authors.forename: Alexandre Ademar
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hoeller
authors.forename: Rodrigo Bainy
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Walz
authors.forename: Rui Daniel
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Prediger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000201:enzymology*; D007696:Kindling, Neurologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D019579:Neocortex / Q000201:enzymology*; D010433:Pentylenetetrazole / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D010433:Pentylenetetrazole