Expression of vesl-1S/homer-1a, a gene associated with long-term potentiation, in the brain of the epileptic EI mouse

The El mouse is an animal model for hereditary epilepsy. It undergoes a con vulsive seizure lasting 10-30 s after vestibular stimulation, such as 'toss ing-up'. To better characterize the effects of seizure activity in the El m ouse, we examined the expression profile of vesl-1S/homer-1a mRNA in the br ain. It has been shown that this mRNA is expressed after long-term potentia tion or seizures induced by electrical or pharmacological stimulations. The basal level of vesl-1S mRNA was very low even in seizure-susceptible El mi ce. The El mouse hippocampus, but not that of ddY mice, showed a remarkable increase in vesl-1S mRNA expression in the dentate granule cell layer afte r seizure induced by 'tossing-up'. The mRNA remained for about 3 h after th e seizure and disappeared after 8 h. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.