Project description:The Wistar Audiogenic Rat (WAR) is a model whose rats are predisposed to develop seizures following acoustic stimulation. We aimed to establish the transcriptional profile of the WAR model, searching for genes that help in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the predisposition and seizures expression of this strain. RNA-Seq of the corpora quadrigemina of WAR and Wistar rats subjected to acoustic stimulation revealed 64 genes differentially regulated in WAR. We validated twelve of these genes by qPCR in stimulated and naive (nonstimulated) WAR and Wistar rats. Among these, Acsm3 was upregulated in WAR in comparison with both control groups. In contrast, Gpr126 and Rtel1 were downregulated in naive and stimulated WAR rats in comparison with the Wistar controls. Qdpr was upregulated only in stimulated WAR rats that exhibited audiogenic seizures. Our data show that there are genes with differential intrinsic regulation in the WAR model and that seizures can alter gene regulation. We identified new genes that might be involved in the epileptic phenotype and comorbidities of the WAR model.
Project description:LC-MS/MS-based proteomics method was used to study activity-dependent changes in the nuclear proteome and transcriptome of forebrain excitatory neurons during Pilocarpine-induced seizures.
Project description:Nicotine, acting through the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), can induce seizures in mice. We aimed to study brain transcriptional response to seizure and to identify genes whose expression is altered after nicotine-induced seizures. Whole brains of untreated mice were compared to brains one hour after seizure activity, using Affymetrix U74Av2 microaarays. Experimental groups included wild-type mice and both nicotine-induced seizures sensitive and resistant nAChR mutant mice. Each genotype group received different nicotine doses to generate seizures. This approach allowed the identification of significantly changed genes whose expression was dependent on seizure activity, nicotine administration or both, but not on the type of nAChR subunit mutation or the amount of nicotine injected. Significant expression changes were detected in 62 genes (p < 0.05, FDR correction). Among them, GO functional annotation analysis determined that the most significantly over-represented categories were of genes encoding MAP kinase phosphatases, regulators of transcription and nucleosome assembly proteins. In-silico bioinformatic analysis of the promoter regions of the 62 changed genes detected the significant enrichments of 16 transcription regulatory elements (TREs), creating a network of transcriptional regulatory responses to seizures. The TREs for ATF and SRF were most significantly enriched, supporting their association with seizure activity. Our data suggest that nicotine-induced seizure in mice is a useful model to study seizure activity and its global brain transcriptional response. The differentially expressed genes detected here can help understand the molecular mechanisms underlying seizures in animal models, and may also serve as candidate genes to study epilepsy in humans. Experiment Overall Design: Whole brain expression profiles were determined in two experimental groups of mice, sixteen mice that were not treated with nicotine and twelve mice one hour after experiencing nicotine-induced seizure. The untreated group included six wild-type mice, five alpha7+/T and five beta4-/- mice. The group of mice that underwent nicotine-induced seizures included three wild-types, five alpha7+/T and four beta4-/- mice. Different doses of nicotine were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) to each genotype group of mice in order to achieve a similar seizure score in all three genotypes.
Project description:This study aims to investigate age-specific, time-dependent changes in gene expression that may underlie the priming effect of early-life seizures by looking at the sequence of gene expression patterns in the hippocampus at various times following Kainate induced seizures at postnatal day (P) 15. Keywords: other
Project description:Neurostimulation by electroconvulsive therapy is highly effective in neuropsychiatric disorders by an unknown mechanism. Microglial toxicity plays a key role in chronic neuro-inflammatory brain diseases, where there is critical shortage in therapies. To investigate the direct effect of electroconvulsive seizures (ECS) on the CNS innate immune system, we performed transcriptome analysis on spinal microglia from ECS- and sham-treated naïve mice.