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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
Published on: August 15, 2017
Polysialic acid affects pathophysiological consequences of status epilepticus
Anton Pekcec1, Birgit Weinhold, Rita Gerardy-Schahn
1Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
Abstract:
Modulation of the neural cell adhesion molecule by the attachment of polysialic acid residues through the polysialyl-transferase, ST8SiaIV, regulates neuronal plasticity and affects cellular alterations in the epileptic brain. Here, we determined the impact of ST8SiaIV deficiency on the pathophysiological consequences of status epilepticus (SE). ST8SiaIV deficiency reduced the latency to SE induction and increased SE-mediated mortality. Analysis of the doublecortin expression showed a reduced number of neuroblasts as a long-term consequence of SE in ST8SiaIV knockouts. Testing in a battery of different behavioral paradigms indicated that loss of ST8SiaIV affects the long-term behavioral consequences. In summary, the data suggest that the polysialic acid-neural cell adhesion molecule system is a putative target for the modulation of pathophysiological events and affects psychiatric comorbidities in epilepsies.
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