Korean J Anat.  1999 Dec;32(6):811-819.

Expressional Change of Nitric Oxide Synthase and erbB4 in Rat Hippocampus after Seizure

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Kyung-Hee University, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Nitric oxide has been considered to be an important modulator of the epileptic seizure response. Previous studies have mainly focused on the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expressed in glial cells and vascular endothelial cells in the brain following seizures, while less data have been available reading the change of neuronal NOS (nNOS) produced in neurons. Polypeptide growth factors play a central role in a variety of environmentally induce structural changes in the cortex and hippocampus of adult brain. neuregulin is widely expressed in the central and peripheral nerve cells and Schwann cells, glia, oligodendrocytes and muscle cells, to control cellular proliferation, differentiation and migration. erbB family are the receptors of the neuregulin and consist of erbB2, erbB3 and erbB4. We have, therefore, investigated the change in the expression of nNOS and erbB4 in the rat hippocampus, one of the brain structures most vulnerable to seizures. Rats were injected with kainic acid (KA) and sacrificed 6 h, 1 d, 3 d and 6 d after KA administration. The expression pattern of nNOS and erbB4 was studied using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. The increase in the level of nNOS reached maximal values in samples obtained 1 d after KA treatment. The optical densities of NADPH-d-positive neurons in the CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) regions of the hippocampus were shown to have increased in samples obtained 1 d and 3 d after injection of KA. The number of NADPH-d-positive neurons in the CA1 regions of the hippocampus was shown to have decreased in samples obtained 3 d and 6 d after injection of KA. However, the number of NADPH-d-positive neurons in the DG region did not change significantly. We show that erbB4 immunoreactivity is increased in hippocampus, reaching maximal levels 3 d after KA treatment, some NOS neurons contain erbB4 protein. We propose that the survival of NOS neuron in the hippocampus after injection of KA is associated with expression of erbB4, neuregulin receptor.

Keyword

Hippocampus; Seizure; Nitric oxide synthase; Neuregulin; erbB4

MeSH Terms

Adult
Animals
Brain
Cell Proliferation
Dentate Gyrus
Endothelial Cells
Epilepsy
Hippocampus*
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Kainic Acid
Muscle Cells
Neuroglia
Neurons
Nitric Oxide Synthase*
Nitric Oxide*
Oligodendroglia
Peripheral Nerves
Rats*
Schwann Cells
Seizures*
Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Kainic Acid
Nitric Oxide
Nitric Oxide Synthase
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