A study of brain and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein in Wistar and Wistar-Kyoto rat strains after electroconvulsive stimulus
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Updated: May 23, 2026
Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
Published on: August 15, 2017
C Kyeremanteng1, J James, J Mackay
1Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. ckyeremanteng@gmail.com
Background:
Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein has been related to depression and less consistently to its treatments in human studies. However, animal studies have failed to demonstrate a clear link between BDNF protein in serum and brain tissue.
Methods:
Serum and brain tissue levels of BDNF protein were measured with ELISA in the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Wistar strains at 1 and 7 days after 5 daily electroconvulsive stimulus sessions or sham treatments.
Results:
The WKY strain showed lower baseline serum BDNF protein relative to Wistar controls. After 5 electroconvulsive stimuli, BDNF protein density was significantly increased in hippocampus and cortical regions, but not in the cerebellum or in serum. A clear correlation between brain and serum BDNF was not observed in either strain or treatment group.
Discussion:
Despite lower baseline serum BDNF protein in the WKY strain, a lack of change in serum BDNF after electroconvulsive stimulus and a lack of correlation between brain and serum BDNF protein calls into question the relevance of serum BDNF as a measure of depression and treatment response.
