Experimental study of Nestin and BMP4 expression in the hippocampus of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) kindled epilepsy rats

Objective To investigate the expression of nestin and BMP4 in different hippocampal areas of PTZ kindled epilepsy rats and explore their relationship with the pathogenesis of epilepsy.Methods 81 male SD rats were randomly divided into experimental group(n=54)and control group(n=27).Rats of experimental group were man-made epilepsies models by chemical method based on the process of PTZ kindling.The experimental group was divided into 9 groups according to different time phase.Immunohistochemistry,in situ hybridization labeled with Dig-oligonucleotide probe were applied to observe the expression of nestin and BMP4 in hippocampus.Results After infusion of PTZ,the nestin-positive cells in the experimental group appeared in dentate gyrus,CA3,CA1 on the third day and reached maximal expression level on the seventh day and then decreased gradually.In the PTZ kindled epilepsy rats,BMP4-positive cells were mainly located in dentate gyrus,CA3,CA1 with the number increasng on seventh day after PTZ infision,and reaching maximal expression level on the next day of kindling,then decreasing gradually.Conclusions PTZ kindling can induce proliferation,activation and neurogenesis of astrocytes in hippocampus,which may serve as the pathological base of scarring and neuronal plasticity of the hippocampus epileptic tissue;BMP4 may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of PTZ kindling epilepsy.