Epilepsy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Epilepsy, including details on symptoms, causes, treatment, drugs, information.

Down-regulation of delta-opioid receptors in Na+/H+ exchanger 1 null mutant mouse brain with epilepsy.

Zhao P, Ma MC, Qian H, Xia Y

Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, LMP 3107, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.

Mice lacking Na+/H+ exchanger 1 (NHE1) show a unique epilepsy phenotype although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Since expression of delta-opioid receptor (DOR) may be involved in control of epileptic activity, we conducted immunohistochemistry and autoradiography to investigate whether DOR expression is dys-regulated in the brain of NHE1 null mouse. Immunohistochemistry showed a decline in DOR expression in hippocampus and cortex. Autoradiographic results confirmed that the density of DOR was decreased in most cortical and hippocampal regions such as striate and temporal cortex, hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions (reduced by 27.7 +/- 6.4%, 29.4 +/- 5.1%, 40.7 +/- 4.4% and 20.6 +/- 5.7%, respectively, P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that NHE1 null mutation leads to a reduction of DOR expression in the cortical and hippocampal regions, which provides a new clue for the genesis of epilepsy.

Published 22 November 2005 in Neurosci Res, 53(4): 442-6.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Epilepsy Research Today. All Rights Reserved.