SYNAPTIC VESICLE GLUTAMATE UPTAKE IN EPILEPTIC (EL) MICE

The ATP-dependent glutamate uptake system of synaptic Vesicles was inv estigated in epileptic (EL) mice to determine whether glutamate uptake activity correlates with seizure susceptibility or development. Given the focal seizure onset, glutamate uptake activity was measured in fo ur separate brain regions: cerebrum (minus hippocampus), hippocampus, cerebellum, and brain stem. The EL Values were compared to those of ag e-matched controls; DDY and ABP/LeJ (ABP) mice. The glutamate uptake s pecific activity for EL cerebrum was significantly higher than that fo r the control mice (approx. 400 days old), but was not elevated prior to seizure onset (46 days old). No difference in glutamate uptake was observed between the strains in the other brain regions. We conclude t hat increased synaptic vesicle glutamate uptake is brain-region specif ic (cerebrum) and is associated with the development or maintenance, r ather than the initial cause, of seizures in the EL model of epilepsy. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.