Development of pentylenetetrazole kindling in rats is associated with an increase in hippocampal doublecortin expression

Doublecortin is a 50 kDa protein normally expressed in neurons at early stages of their differentiation. In this study, we investigated the doublecortin expression in rat hippocampus during chronic pentylenetetrazole administration (kindling). Rats were decapitated after the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 13th injection of the chemoconvulsant at a subconvulsive dose; doublecortin levels were assessed using Western-blot analysis. Antibodies to doublecortin stained two proteins with molecular weights of 50 and 70 kDa. Doublecortin expression increased after 13 injections of pentylenetetrazole, which indicates intensification of neurogenesis in the hippocampus of rats with increased seizure readiness. The 70 kDa proteins were found in both neocortex and hippocampus; changes in their expression did not correlate with doublecortin expression.