title: Pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in developing rats prenatally exposed to valproic acid.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemiological evidence indicates epilepsy is more common in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (20-25%) than in the general population. The aim of this project was to analyze seizure susceptibility in developing rats prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA) as autism model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnant females were injected with VPA during the twelfth embryonic day. Seizures were induced in fourteen-days-old rat pups using two models of convulsions: pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and lithium-pilocarpine (Li-Pilo).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two subgroups with different PTZ-induced seizure susceptibility in rats exposed to VPA were found: a high susceptibility (VPA+) (28/42, seizure severity 5) and a low susceptibility (VPA-) (14/42, seizure severity 2). The VPA+ subgroup exhibited an increased duration of the generalized tonic-clonic seizure (GTCS; 45 ± 2.7 min), a higher number of rats showed several GTCS (14/28) and developed status epilepticus (SE) after PTZ injection (19/27) compared with control animals (36.6 ± 1.9 min; 10/39; 15/39, respectively). No differences in seizure severity, latency or duration of SE induced by Li-Pilo were detected between VPA and control animals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prenatal VPA modifies the susceptibility to PTZ-induced seizures in developing rats, which may be linked to an alteration in the GABAergic transmission. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the comorbidity between autism and epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Doctorado en Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana , Xalapa, Veracruz , Mexico.
authors.forename: Angel A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Puig-Lagunes
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana , Xalapa, Veracruz , Mexico.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manzo
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana , Xalapa, Veracruz , Mexico.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beltrán-Parrazal
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana , Xalapa, Veracruz , Mexico.
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morgado-Valle
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana , Xalapa, Veracruz , Mexico.
authors.forename: Rebeca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Toledo-Cárdenas
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana , Xalapa, Veracruz , Mexico.
authors.forename: Maria-Leonor
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: López-Meraz
keywords: Autism; Convulsions; Epilepsy; Pentylenetetrazole; Valproic acid