title: Intergenerational Transmission of Enhanced Seizure Susceptibility after Febrile Seizures.
abstract: Environmental exposure early in development plays a role in susceptibility to disease in later life. Here, we demonstrate that prolonged febrile seizures induced by exposure of rat pups to a hyperthermic environment enhance seizure susceptibility not only in these hyperthermia-treated rats but also in their future offspring, even if the offspring never experience febrile seizures. This transgenerational transmission was intensity-dependent and was mainly from mothers to their offspring. The transmission was associated with DNA methylation. Thus, our study supports a "Lamarckian"-like mechanism of pathogenesis and the crucial role of epigenetic factors in neurological conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Neurology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Dengchang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yunjian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Cenglin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yangshun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Shihong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Benyan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.. Electronic address: chenzhong@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy
keywords: DNA methylation; Febrile seizures; Seizure susceptibility; Transgeneration