Am. Planas et al., REGIONAL EXPRESSION OF INDUCIBLE HEAT-SHOCK PROTEIN-70 MESSENGER-RNA IN THE RAT-BRAIN FOLLOWING ADMINISTRATION OF CONVULSANT DRUGS, Molecular brain research, 27(1), 1994, pp. 127-137
Expression of inducible heat shock protein-70 mRNA (hsp-70 mRNA) was s
tudied in the rat brain following systemic administration of different
convulsant agents: an L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel agonis
t, (+/-)-BAY K 8644 (BAY-K); the excitotoxic glutamate agonists kainic
acid and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA); and the GABA, receptor comp
lex antagonists pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and lindane (gamma-hexacloroc
yclohexane). BAY-K induced minimal hsp-70 mRNA expression in the hippo
campus of convulsant rats, localized in the dentate gyrus and the pyra
midal cell layer of Ammon's horn. Kainic acid treatment in rats, showi
ng severe limbic convulsions, caused intense expression of hsp-70 mRNA
and protein (HSP-70). Expression was localized in select cerebral reg
ions, notably the pyramidal cell layer of the hippocampal CA3 field of
Ammon's horn and the piriform cortex, and also the subicular complex
and the amygdala, and, to a lesser extent, the entorhinal cortex, the
pyramidal cell layer of CA1, several thalamic nuclei, and the parietal
cortex. In contrast, systemic administration of NMDA, PTZ or lindane
led to no detectable induction of hsp-70 mRNA in the rat brain, despit
e producing convulsions. Histological examination revealed cell injury
only following kainic acid treatment. Damage was most apparent in the
piriform and entorhinal cortices, pyramidal cell layer of the CA1 fie
ld, and cortical amygdaloid nuclei. BAY-K, NMDA, PTZ and lindane did n
ot lead to any observable histopathological changes. These results sho
w that convulsions of different aetiology do not inevitably induce hsp
-70 mRNA expression or cell damage. Intense expression of hsp-70 mRNA
was generally associated with regions that later showed variable degre
es of nerve cell damage, although hsp-70 mRNA expression was not alway
s predictive of subsequent cell death or survival.