Abstract:

Objective   To investigate expression of  protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) in the hippocampal neurons of rats after lithium chloride-pilocarpine-induced  status epilepticus (SE) and the influence  of  tacrolimus(FK506) on it.  Methods   One hundred and eight healthy adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group，the epilepsy group and the FK506 group(36 rats in each group). The hippocampal neuronal damage after SE was observed by HE staining. Take reverse transcription PCR and immunohistochemistry to detect the expressions of PKCδ mRNA and protein.  Results   There were a few expressions of PKCδ mRNA and protein in the control group. Compared with the control group, the expressions of PKCδ in the epilepsy group were increased observably(P<0.05), the expression of  PKCδ mRNA arrived at a peak 6h after SE,  the expression of  PKCδ protein arrived at a peak 12h after SE(P<0.01), and both of PKCδ mRNA and protein were still more than the level of the control group 72h after SE(P<0.05). Compared with the epilepsy group, pre-treatment with FK506 could remarkably decrease the expression of PKCδ and also obviously alleviate hippocampal neuronal damage(P<0.05).  Conclusion   FK506 may exert anti-epileptic and cerebral protection effects through inhibition of the PKCδ-dependent apoptotic pathway.

Key words: Tacrolimus； Status epilepticus； Protein kinase Cδ； Hippocampus； Rats, Wistar