| Abstrakt: |
We present here the results of studies of the effects of thermal preconditioning, a widely used method for increasing the content of inducible 70-kDal heat shock protein (Hsp70i), on measures of audiogenic convulsive seizures in Krushinskii-Molodkina (KM) rats, which have an inherited form of epilepsy. These results are the first showing that transient thermal preconditioning (warming of the animal to a rectal temperature of 41°C for 5 min) increases the latent period of audiogenic convulsions. After exposure to heat, there were increases in the Hsp70i content in the amygdala, hypothalamus, midbrain, and, most significantly, in the hippocampus and inferior colliculi, i.e., structures involved in the triggering and development of audiogenic convulsions. The times at which increases in Hsp70i and the latent period of initiation of audiogenic convulsions were maximal coincided (on day 4 after exposure to heat). It is suggested that Hsp70i, whose content increases in thermal preconditioning, may be involved in the processes by which convulsions develop in inherited audiogenic epilepsy, which is regarded as a suitable model for identifying the molecular and genetic mechanisms of epileptogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
Full text from SpringerLink