ABSTRACT
[ABSTRACT]AIM:Tostudytheeffectsofbaicalin(BC)onglialfibrillaryacidicprotein(GFAP)andnuclear factor-κB ( NF-κB) expression and neuronal apoptosis in juvenile rat hippocampus after status convulsion ( SC) .METH-ODS:One hundred and ninety five juvenile male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:normal saline pretreatment group (NS group), SC group and SC with BC pretreatment group (BC group).Each of these 3 groups would be subdivided into 5 subgroups sacrificed at 4 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after SC.The rat SC model was prepared by lithium-pilocarpine chemical method .The protein expression of GFAP and NF-κB was detected by the method of immuno-histochemistry .The mRNA expression of GFAP was detected by RT-PCR.The neuronal apoptosis was observed by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling ( TUNEL ) .RESULTS: Compared with NS group , the GFAP positive cells was in-creased in SC group (P<0.05).Compared with SC group, the expression of GFAP was significantly reduced in BC group (P<0.05).Compared with NS group, the NF-κB positive cells was increased in SC group (P<0.05).Compared with SC group, the expression of NF-κB was significantly reduced in BC group .RT-PCR showed that the expression trend of GFAP mRNA was similar to that of the protein .Compared with NS group , the TUNEL positive cells in the hippocampus CA1 area in SC group increased significantly 12 h after SC (P<0.01), and reached a peak at 48 h.After the intervention with BC, the TUNEL positive cells decreased significantly between 12~48 h after SC (P<0.05 or P<0.01), but the number of TUNEL positive cells remained significantly greater than that in NS group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The expression of GFAP and NF-κB in the hippocampus increased after SC in rats .Baicalin decreases the expression of GFAP and NF-κB in hippocampus of rats with pilocarpine-induced seizures , and reduces the number of neuronal apoptosis , sug-gesting that baicalin may protect against the brain damage caused by status convulsion .