title: Protective Effects of Thymoquinone Against Convulsant Activity Induced by Lithium-Pilocarpine in a model of Status Epilepticus.
abstract: Inflammation plays a pivotal role in status epilepticus (SE). Thymoquinone (TQ) is a bioactive monomer extracted from black seed (Nigella sativa) oil, which has anti-inflammatory properties in the context of various diseases. This study explored the protective effects of TQ in SE and used a lithium-pilocarpine model of SE to investigate the underlying mechanism, which was related to inflammation mediated by the NF-κB signaling pathway. In the present study, latency to SE increased in the TQ-pretreated group compared with the SE group, and the incidence of SE was significantly reduced. The seizure severity score measured on the Racine scale was significantly decreased in the TQ group compared with the SE group. Moreover, the results of the behavioral tests suggested that TQ may also have a protective effect on learning and memory functions. Finally, we further investigated the protective mechanism of TQ. The results showed that TQ-pretreatment significantly downregulated the protein levels of COX-2 and TNF-α in the brain, in a manner mediated by the NF-κB signaling pathway. These findings demonstrate that TQ attenuates convulsant activity via an anti- inflammation signaling pathway in a model of SE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai, 201508, China.
authors.forename: Yiye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai, 201508, China.
authors.forename: Yonghao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai, 201508, China.
authors.forename: Yangmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai, 201508, China.
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai, 201508, China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Center Laboratory, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai, 200040, China. libing22@126.com.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai, 201508, China. yinghuichen@fudan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yinghui
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0427-591X
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016227:Benzoquinones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018021:Lithium Chloride; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D010862:Pilocarpine; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012640:Seizures / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D016227:Benzoquinones; D016207:Cytokines; D016328:NF-kappa B; D010862:Pilocarpine; D018021:Lithium Chloride; C003466:thymoquinone
keywords: Convulsant activity; Inflammation; NF-κB; Status epilepticus; Thymoquinone