KAINATE-INDUCED SEIZURE ACTIVITY STIMULATES THE POLYAMINE INTERCONVERSION PATHWAY IN RAT-BRAIN

Systemic injection of kainic acid in adult rat is accompanied by a lar ge increase in the accumulation of acetylated derivatives of spermidin e and spermine in the hippocampus and piriform cortex of animals pretr eated with the polyamine oxidase inhibitor, MDL 72527. Furthermore, th e activity of the enzyme spermine/spermidine acetyltransferase is incr eased at 8 and 16 h after kainate injection in piriform cortex and hip pocampus. These results indicate that the polyamine interconversion pa thway is rapidly activated in limbic areas following kainate-induced s eizure activity, and suggest that this pathway might participate in th e resulting neuronal damage.