Hcn1 is a tremorgenic genetic component in a rat model of essential tremor.

Genetic factors are thought to play a major role in the etiology of essential tremor (ET); however, few genetic changes that induce ET have been identified to date. In the present study, to find genes responsible for the development of ET, we employed a rat model system consisting of a tremulous mutant strain, TRM/Kyo (TRM), and its substrain TRMR/Kyo (TRMR). The TRM rat is homozygous for the tremor (tm) mutation and shows spontaneous tremors resembling human ET. The TRMR rat also carries a homozygous tm mutation but shows no tremor, leading us to hypothesize that TRM rats carry one or more genes implicated in the development of ET in addition to the tm mutation. We used a positional cloning approach and found a missense mutation (c. 1061 C>T, p. A354V) in the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated 1 channel (Hcn1) gene. The A354V HCN1 failed to conduct hyperpolarization-activated currents in vitro, implicating it as a loss-of-function mutation. Blocking HCN1 channels with ZD7288 in vivo evoked kinetic tremors in nontremulous TRMR rats. We also found neuronal activation of the inferior olive (IO) in both ZD7288-treated TRMR and non-treated TRM rats and a reduced incidence of tremor in the IO-lesioned TRM rats, suggesting a critical role of the IO in tremorgenesis. A rat strain carrying the A354V mutation alone on a genetic background identical to that of the TRM rats showed no tremor. Together, these data indicate that body tremors emerge when the two mutant loci, tm and Hcn1A354V, are combined in a rat model of ET. In this model, HCN1 channels play an important role in the tremorgenesis of ET. We propose that oligogenic, most probably digenic, inheritance is responsible for the genetic heterogeneity of ET.

Scn1a missense mutation causes limbic hyperexcitability and vulnerability to experimental febrile seizures.

Mutations of the voltage-gated sodium (Na(v)) channel subunit SCN1A have been implicated in the pathogenesis of human febrile seizures including generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) and severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy (SMEI). Hyperthermia-induced seizure-susceptible (Hiss) rats are the novel rat model carrying a missense mutation (N1417H) of Scn1a, which is located in the third pore-forming region of the Na(v)1.1 channel. Here, we conducted behavioral and neurochemical studies to clarify the functional relevance of the Scn1a mutation in vivo and the mechanism underlying the vulnerability to hyperthermic seizures. Hiss rats showed markedly high susceptibility to hyperthermic seizures (mainly generalized clonic seizures) which were synchronously associated with paroxysmal epileptiform discharges. Immunohistochemical analysis of brain Fos expression revealed that hyperthermic seizures induced a widespread elevation of Fos-immunoreactivity in the cerebral cortices including the motor area, piriform, and insular cortex. In the subcortical regions, hyperthermic seizures enhanced Fos expression region--specifically in the limbic and paralimbic regions (e.g., hippocampus, amygdala, and perirhinal-entorhinal cortex) without affecting other brain regions (e.g., basal ganglia, diencephalon, and lower brainstem), suggesting a primary involvement of limbic system in the induction of hyperthermic seizures. In addition, Hiss rats showed a significantly lower threshold than the control animals in inducing epileptiform discharges in response to local stimulation of the hippocampus (hippocampal afterdischarges). Furthermore, hyperthermic seizures in Hiss rats were significantly alleviated by the antiepileptic drugs, diazepam and sodium valproate, while phenytoin or ethosuximide were ineffective. The present findings support the notion that Hiss rats are useful as a novel rat model of febrile seizures and suggest that hyperexcitability of limbic neurons associated with Scn1a missense mutation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of febrile seizures.

Serotonergic modulation of absence-like seizures in groggy rats: a novel rat model of absence epilepsy.

To explore the role of the serotonergic system in modulating absence seizures, we examined the effects of 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(2) agonists on the incidence of spike-and-wave discharges (SWD) in Groggy (GRY) rats, a novel rat model of absence-like epilepsy. GRY rats exhibited spontaneous absence-like seizures characterized by the incidence of sudden immobile posture and synchronously-associated SWD. The total duration of SWD in GRY rats was about 300 - 400 s/15-min observation period under the control conditions. However, the incidence of SWD was markedly reduced either by the 5-HT(1A) agonist (±)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin [(±)8-OH-DPAT] or the 5-HT(2) agonist (±)-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane [(±)DOI]. The 5-HT reuptake inhibitors, fluoxetine and clomipramine, also inhibited the SWD generation. In addition, the inhibitory effects of (±)8-OH-DPAT and (±)DOI were reversed by WAY-100135 (5-HT(1A) antagonist) and ritanserin (5-HT(2) antagonist), respectively. The present results suggest that the serotonergic system negatively regulates the incidence of absence seizures by stimulation of 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(2) receptors.