Effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation of hippocampus on the expression of GABAA receptor α1 and β2 subunits in kainate-kindled rats

Abstract

To explore the effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFS) of hippocampus on the expression of GABAA receptor α1 and β2 subunits in the kainite (KA)-kindled rats and explore its underlying rescue mechanism for temporal lobe epilepsy. The SD rats were divided into 4 groups (n = 10):control group:no operation; epilepsy group:KA was stereotactically injected into rat hippocampus to establish KA-kindled model; sham-LFS group:only implanting of electrodes into hippocampus without LFS; LFS group:KA-kindled model with LFS. Then hippocampal tissues were collected and their expressions of GABAA receptor α1 and β2 subunits measured by immunohistochemistry, quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) and Western blot.Nissl staining was performed to detect the number of damaged hippocampal neurons. There were significant decreases of GABAA receptor α1 and β2 subunits in kindled hippocampus (P < 0.01). LFS resulted in an effective rescue, but failed to reach normal levels. The damaged neurons could not be reversed according to Nissl staining. The hippocampal application of LFS may protect against seizures by modulating the expressions of α1 and β2 GABAA receptor subunits.