RESUMO
Objective To observe the modulation of met enkephalin (ME) and naloxone (NLX) on the excitatory effects of kainic acid (KA) and glutamic acid (GLU) in hippocampus of rats and to explore the possible mechanism of the effects of ME in the KA epilepsy model. Methods A total of 45 healthy Wistar rats were anesthetized with 1% sodium pentobarbital (3 ml/kg intraperitoneal injection). After endotracheal intubation, the animal was mounted onto a SN 1stereotaxic apparatus (Narishige) and routine craniotomy was performed. Then the animal was immobilized by 0.01% curare (1 mg/kg) after it woke up. The peripheral pipettes of a multiple pipette microelectrode were used for microelectrophoretic application of drugs; the central pipette was used for extracellular recording of the hippocampal unit discharges (HUDs). Results ①ME excited most of the HUDs; opioid receptor antagonist NLX could reverse the excitatory effects of met enkephalin. NLX applied alone had no effects on the firing rate of HUDs. ②KA and GLU excited the HUDs intensively but ME and NLX could modulate their excitatory effects. Conclusion ME may promote the development of epilepsy by modulating the excitatory effects of KA and GLU in hippocampus.