Aberrant changes of somatostatin and neuropeptide Y in brain of a genetic rat model for epilepsy: tremor rat.
Excessive excitation or loss of inhibitory neurotransmission has been closely related to epileptic activity. Somatostatin (SST) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) are members of endogenous neuropeptides which are recognized as important modulator of classical neurotransmitter, distributed abundantly in mammalian central nervous system. Abnormal expression of these two neuropeptides evidenced in some epileptic models highlights the relevance of SST or NPY in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. The tremor rat (TRM) is a genetic epileptic animal model which can manifest tonic convulsions without any external stimuli. The present study aimed to investigate the distribution and expression of SST and NPY in TRM brains, including hippocampus, temporal lobe cortex and cerebellum. Our RT‑PCR data showed that up-regulated mRNA expression of SST and NPY was discovered in TRM hippocampus and temporal lobe cortex compared with control (Wistar) rats. The peptide levels of these neuropeptides in brain areas mentioned above were both apparently higher than that in normal Wistar rats as well. However, in cerebellums, neither SST nor NPY was significantly changed compared with control group. The immunohistochemical data showed that SST and NPY were widely present throughout CA1, CA3 and the hilus of hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex of temporal lobe cortex, as well as cerebellar Purkinje layer. In conclusion, our results discovered the aberrant changes of SST and NPY in several TRM brain regions, suggesting that the peptidergic system might be involved in TRM epileptiform activity.
Department of Neurology, the First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; Institute of Neurology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China. xiaoxue80cn@sina.com.
Xiaoxue
X
Xu
Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Feng
F
Guo
Central Lab, the First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Xinze
X
Cai
Department of Neurology, the First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; Institute of Neurology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Jun
J
Yang
Department of Neurology, the First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; Institute of Neurology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Jiuhan
J
Zhao
Experiment Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China.
Dongyu
D
Min
Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Qianhui
Q
Wang
Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Liying
L
Hao
Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Jiqun
J
Cai
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D064428:Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014202:Tremor / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology
C578667:Hcn1 protein, rat; D064428:Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D015221:Potassium Channels; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013004:Somatostatin