Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Overactivation of NMDA-Rs may mediate excitotoxic cell death associated with epileptic seizures, and hypoxic-ischemic conditions. We assessed whether repeated subcutaneous administration of l-glutamate to neonatal rats affects the subunit composition of NMDA-Rs. Accordingly, cortical and hippocampal tissue from 14-day-old rats was analyzed by Western blotting and RT-PCR to quantify the protein and mRNA expression of different NMDA-R subunits. In addition, tissue sections were Nissl stained to assess the cell damage in this tissue. Early exposure of neonatal rats to L-glutamate differentially affects the expression of mRNA transcripts for NMDA-R subunits in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. In the cerebral cortex, a decrease in NR2B subunit mRNA expression was observed, as well as a loss of NR1 and NR2A protein. By contrast, neonatal L-glutamate administration augmented the transcripts encoding the NR1, NR2B, and NR2C subunits in the hippocampal formation. The expression of mRNA encoding the NR2A subunit was not affected by neonatal L-glutamate administration in either of the brain regions examined. This differential expression of NMDA-R subunits following neonatal exposure to L-glutamate may represent an adaptive response of the glutamate receptors to overactivation in order to reduce the effect of high L-glutamate during the early period of life when the animal is more vulnerable to excitotoxicity.
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PMID:Changes in hippocampal NMDA-R subunit composition induced by exposure of neonatal rats to L-glutamate. 1893 Aug 1

Undernourishment is a global issue, especially in developing countries, affecting newborns and children in a vulnerable period of brain development. Previous studies of undernourishment models suggested a relationship between undernourishment and epilepsy. The exposure to both undernourishment and recurrent seizures early in life appears to have detrimental effects on the developing brain. This study aims to investigate the neurobiological consequences of undernourishment and recurrent seizures exposure early in life, investigating Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) induction and gene expression of NMDA receptor subunits in the hippocampus during adulthood (P60). Animals were exposed to maternal deprivation protocol from P2 to P15 to control food intake in rat pups and Flurothyl-induced seizures from P7 to P10. Electrophysiological records of hippocampal slices were recorded and gene expression of NR1A, NR2A, NR2B, NR2C, NR2D and BDNF were investigated. Animals exposed to undernourishment or recurrent seizures failed to promote LTP after stimulation. Furthermore, seizure exposure early in life led to increased expression of hippocampal NR1A, NR2A, NR2B, NR2C and NR2D when compared to controls. Interestingly, when animals were exposed to undernourishment paradigm early in life, this upregulation of NDMA subunits was absent. In conclusion, our study showed impaired LTP after undernourishment and recurrent seizures early in life, together with differential expression of NDMA expression in the hippocampus during adulthood.
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PMID:Undernourishment and recurrent seizures early in life impair Long-Term Potentiation and alter NMDAR and AMPAR expression in rat hippocampus. 3094 May


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