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Updated: Mar 21, 2026
Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
Published on: August 15, 2017
Hippocampal distribution of IL-1β and IL-1RI following lithium-pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in the
Dulce-Mariely Álvarez-Croda1,2, Juan Santiago-García3, Jesús S Medel-Matus1
1Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Unidad de Ciencias de la Salud, Médicos y Odontólogos, s/n, Col. Unidad del Bosque, C.P. 91010, Xalapa, Veracruz, México, Universidad Veracruzana, Universidad Veracruzana, Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Xalapa Veracruz , México.
Abstract:
The contribution of Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) to neuronal injury induced by status epilepticus (SE) in the immature brain remains unclear. The goal of this study was to determine the hippocampal expression of IL-1β and its type 1 receptor (IL-1RI) following SE induced by the lithium-pilocarpine model in fourteen-days-old rat pups; control animals were given an equal volume of saline instead of the convulsant. IL-1β and IL-1RI mRNA hippocampal levels were assessed by qRT-PCR 6 and 24 h after SE or control conditions. IL-1β and IL-1RI expression was detected in the dorsal hippocampus by immunohistochemical procedures; Fluoro-Jade B staining was carried out in parallel sections in order to detect neuronal cell death. IL-1β mRNA expression was increased 6 h following SE, but not at 24 h; however IL-1RI mRNA expression was unaffected when comparing with the control group. IL-1β and IL-1RI immunoreactivity was not detected in control animals. IL-1β and IL-1RI were expressed in the CA1 pyramidal layer, the dentate gyrus granular layer and the hilus 6 h after SE, whereas injured cells were detected 24 h following seizures. Early expression of IL-1β and IL-1RI in the hippocampus could be associated with SE-induced neuronal cell death mechanisms in the developing rat.
