Effects of Oxcarbazepine on Apoptosis of Hippocampus Neuron in Epileptic Rats Induced by Pentylenetetrazol

Objective To explore the effects of oxcarbazepine on apoptosis of hippocampus neuron in epileptic rats induced by pentylenetetrazol(PTZ).Methods Totally 84 cases of 4-week-old rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:the rats in group A were given 9 g·L-1 saline(n=18),the rats in group B were given oxcarbazepine(n=18),group C and group D were epileptic groups(each group had 24 rats),so the rats in group C were given 9 g·L-1 saline after kindled,the rats in group D were given oxcarbazepine after kindled.The rats in group C and group D were given intraperitoneal injection of pentylenetetrazol(60 mg·kg-1·d-1)for 5 days,and rat′s attack according to Racine classification was observed.The epileptic models were successfully constructed through 5 consecutive days of Ⅳ-V level attacks,each attack lasting 3-5 minutes.On the 6th day,group A and group C were given 9 g·L-1 saline by intraperitoneal injection,group B and group D were given oxcarbazepine 80 mg·kg-1·d-1 by gavage.After continuous medication for 9,15 and 21 days,rats were killed and their brain were taken to make paraffin blocks.The morphological changes of apoptosis cells and number changes in hippocampus neuron of each group were observed by HE stains and immunohistochemical staining.Results HE staining:there was no obvious morphological difference between group A and group B.Group C showed vesical degeneration in cells,while the cell membrane invaginated.A large number of apoptotic cells could be found in group D,the cell layers increased.Bcl-2 expression:group A and group B had a small amount of Bcl-2 expression in hippocampus of rats.At the time point of 9,15 and 21 days,before and after comparison between 2 groups there was no statistical difference.Compared with group A and group B,Bcl-2 positive cells in group C increased at the time point of 9,15 and 21 days.Compared with group A,group B and group C,expression of Bcl-2 in group D was significantly increased at the time point of 9,15 and 21 days.The expression of Bcl-2 in group C and group D rapidly declined after significantly increased in the early stage,but it was still significantly higher than that in non-epilepsy group at the time point of 21 days.Bax expression:the expression of Bax in rat hippocampus had no statistical difference among group A,group B and group D,and among the comparison of the groups at each time point.Bax positive cells in group C increased more than that in group A,group B or group D at the time point of 9 and 15 days.But there was no statistically significant difference.When compared with the 3 groups,there was no statistically significant difference at the time of 21 days.Conclusions Oxcarbazepine can reduce the seizure-induced injury in hippocampus neuron of rats and increase the expression of Bcl-2 and inhibit the expression of bax,thus it can provide a protective effect on apoptosis of hippocampus neurons in epileptic rats induced by PTZ.