Korean J Physiol Pharmacol.  2020 Jan;24(1):81-88. 10.4196/kjpp.2020.24.1.81.

Spatiotemporal expression of RCAN1 and its isoform RCAN1-4 in the mouse hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pharmacology, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, Catholic Neuroscience Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea. syk@catholic.ac.kr
  • 2Institute of Aging and Metabolic Diseases, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
  • 3Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.

Abstract

Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) can be induced by an intracellular calcium increase and oxidative stress, which are characteristic features of temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus, we investigated the spatiotemporal expression and cellular localization of RCAN1 protein and mRNA in the mouse hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE). Male C57BL/6 mice were given pilocarpine hydrochloride (280 mg/kg, i.p.) and allowed to develop 2 h of SE. Then the animals were given diazepam (10 mg/kg, i.p.) to stop the seizures and sacrificed at 1, 3, 7, 14, or 28 day after SE. Cresyl violet staining showed that pilocarpine-induced SE resulted in cell death in the CA1 and CA3 subfields of the hippocampus from 3 day after SE. RCAN1 immunoreactivity showed that RCAN1 was mainly expressed in neurons in the shammanipulated hippocampi. At 1 day after SE, RCAN1 expression became detected in hippocampal neuropils. However, RCAN1 signals were markedly enhanced in cells with stellate morphology at 3 and 7 day after SE, which were confirmed to be reactive astrocytes, but not microglia by double immunofluorescence. In addition, real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction showed a significant upregulation of RCAN1 isoform 4 (RCAN1-4) mRNA in the SE-induced hippocampi. Finally, in situ hybridization with immunohistochemistry revealed astrocytic expression of RCAN1-4 after SE. These results demonstrate astrocytic upregulation of RCAN1 and RCAN1-4 in the mouse hippocampus in the acute and subacute phases of epileptogenesis, providing foundational information for the potential role of RCAN1 in reactive astrocytes during epileptogenesis.

Keyword

Epilepsy; Hippocampus; Regulator of calcineurin 1; Regulator of calcineurin 1-4; Status epilepticus

MeSH Terms

Animals
Astrocytes
Calcineurin
Calcium
Cell Death
Diazepam
Epilepsy
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Hippocampus*
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
In Situ Hybridization
Male
Mice*
Microglia
Neurons
Neuropil
Oxidative Stress
Pilocarpine
RNA, Messenger
Seizures
Status Epilepticus*
Up-Regulation
Viola
Calcineurin
Calcium
Diazepam
Pilocarpine
RNA, Messenger

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Hippocampal cell death after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) measured by cresyl violet staining. In sham-manipulated hippocampi (A), intact neurons were observed in the CA1 (magnified in A1), CA3 (magnified in A2), and the hilus (magnified in A3, arrowheads for exemplary interneurons) subfields. In contrast, pyknotic cells were found in the hilus 1 day after SE (B, B3), and in the CA1 (magnified in C1) and CA3 (magnified in C2) subfields, along with the dentate hilus at 3 day (C), 14 day (D), and 28 day (E) after SE onset. Scale bar in (E) = 200 µg/mlm; the same magnification was used for (A–D). Scale bar in (C2) = 20 µg/mlm; the same magnification was used for (A1, A2, C1). Scale bar in (B3) = 50 µg/mlm; the same magnification was used for (A3).

  • Fig. 2 Temporal expression pattern of regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) protein in the hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE). In sham-manipulated hippocampi (A), RCAN1 signals were found in neurons (magnified in A1). At 1 day after SE, RCAN1 labeling was increased in neuropils of the hippocampal stratum radiatum (magnified in B1) and the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus (B). RCAN1 expression was markedly induced in glia-like cells at 3 day (C, magnified in C1) and 7 day (D) after SE and gradually subsided from 14 day (E) to 28 day after SE (F). Scale bar in (C1) = 50 µg/mlm; the same magnification was used for (A1, B1). Scale bar in (F) = 200 µg/mlm; the same magnification was used for (A–E).

  • Fig. 3 Phenotypes of regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1)-positive cells in the hippocampus 3 day after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE). RCAN1 immunoreactivity was co-localized with NeuN (A–C), a neuronal marker, and with GFAP (D–F, arrowheads for RCAN1/GFAP-double positive cells), an astrocyte marker. However, RCAN1 signals did not overlap with Ox-42 labeling (G–I, arrows for RCAN1-positive cells), a microglial marker. Scale bar in (I) = 50 µg/mlm; the same magnification was used for (A–H). NeuN, neuronal nuclei; pcl, pyramidal cell layer; sr, stratum radiatum; GFAP, glial fibrillary acidic protein.

  • Fig. 4 Regulator of calcineurin 1 isoform 4 (RCAN1-4) mRNA expression in the hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE). A qRT-PCR analysis showed that temporal RCAN1-4 transcription increased significantly in the hippocampus after SE, compared with sham-manipulated animals (A). Data presented are the mean ± standard error of the mean, with *p < 0.05 by one-way ANOVA followed by Duncan's post-hoc test. In situ hybridization showed that RCAN1-4 mRNA in the sham-manipulated animals was expressed in the pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, whereas 3 day after SE, RCAN1-4 signals were detected in GFAP-positive astrocytes (arrows), along with pyramidal neurons (B). Scale bar in (B) = 50 µg/mlm. GFAP, glial fibrillary acidic protein; pcl, pyramidal cell layer; sr, stratum radiatum.


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