Effect of ketogenic diet on hippocampus synaptic reorganization and GluR5 expression in kainic acid induced rat model of epilepsy

• Published in: Zhonghua er ke za zhi Vol. 44; no. 2; p. 100
• Main Authors: Xu, Xiang-ping, Sun, Ruo-peng, Jin, Rui-feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 01.02.2006
• Subjects: Animals; Blotting, Western; CA1 Region, Hippocampal - metabolism; CA1 Region, Hippocampal - pathology; CA3 Region, Hippocampal - metabolism; CA3 Region, Hippocampal - pathology; Chromosome Pairing - drug effects; Dentate Gyrus - metabolism; Dentate Gyrus - pathology; Diet, Ketogenic - methods; Disease Models, Animal; Epilepsy - chemically induced; Epilepsy - diet therapy; Epilepsy - genetics; Epilepsy - metabolism; Epilepsy - pathology; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Hippocampus - drug effects; Hippocampus - metabolism; Hippocampus - pathology; Kainic Acid; Male; Mossy Fibers, Hippocampal - metabolism; Mossy Fibers, Hippocampal - pathology; Pyramidal Cells - metabolism; Pyramidal Cells - pathology; Rats; Receptors, Kainic Acid - genetics; Receptors, Kainic Acid - metabolism; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - metabolism
• ISSN: 0578-1310

Ketogenic diet (KD) is a high fat, low protein, low carbohydrate diet. Its antiepileptic effect is certain but the underlying mechanism is unknown. The aim of the study was to reveal the possible mechanism from the view points of synaptic reorganization and GluR(5) expression in hippocampus. Epilepsy was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by kainic acid at postnatal day 28, all control animals were fed with normal rodent chow, whereas experimental rats were fed with ketogenic feed for 8 weeks. Spontaneous recurrent seizures were recorded. Mossy fiber sprouting and neuron damage in hippocampus were investigated by Timm staining and Nissl staining. Western blot and RT-PCR methods were applied to detect the expression of GluR(5) and GluR(5) mRNA in hippocampus. KD-fed rats (1.40 +/- 1.03) had significantly fewer spontaneous recurrent seizures than control diet-fed rats (7.36 +/- 3.75). The mean A of mossy fiber sprouting in the inner molecular layer of dentate gyrus was markedly higher in KA induced animals than tha