Asymmetry in enhanced neurogenesis in the rostral dentate gyrus following kainic acid-induced status epilepticus in adult rats

Abstract

Neurogenesis in the suprapyramidal and infrapyramidal blades of the rostral dentate gyrus was investigated following kainic acid (KA)-induced status epilepticus (SE) in adult rats. Rats were injected with KA (14 mg/kg, i.p.) or saline, with convulsions terminated by an intraperitoneal injection of diazepam. Five days after the induction of SE, the rats were injected with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine-5-monophosphate (BrdU; 75 mg/kg, i.p.), a marker of cell division. One day after the BrdU injection, the numbers of BrdU-labeled cells in the supra- and infrapyramidal blades were significantly higher in the KA-injected rats compared to the saline-injected rats. In the saline-injected rats, the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the infrapyramidal blade was greater than in the suprapyramidal blade. Twenty-eight days after the BrdU injection, the number of BrdU-labeled cells remained significantly higher in the KA-injected rats than the saline-injected rats, but only in the infrapyramidal blade. In addition, when the extent of cell death was examined with Fluoro-Jade B (a marker of dead and dying cells) 3 days after the induction of SE, degenerating cells were more numerous in the infrapyramidal blade than in the suprapyramidal blade. Our results suggest that there is an asymmetry of neurogenesis and cell death in the rostral dentate gyrus of rats following KA-induced SE.