PUBLICATION

Pentylenetetrazole induced changes in zebrafish behavior, neural activity and c-fos expression

Authors
Baraban, S.C., Taylor, M.R., Castro, P.A., and Baier, H.
ID
ZDB-PUB-050301-1
Date
2005
Source
Neuroscience   131(3): 759-768 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Baier, Herwig
Keywords
Danio rerio; epilepsy; extracellular; c-Fos; interictal; ictal
MeSH Terms
  • GABA Antagonists/pharmacology*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Behavior, Animal/drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Neurons/drug effects*
  • Neurons/physiology
  • Reaction Time/drug effects
  • Animals
  • Diazepam/pharmacology
  • Pentylenetetrazole/pharmacology*
  • Anticonvulsants/pharmacology
  • Membrane Potentials/drug effects
  • Motor Activity/drug effects*
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods
  • Gene Expression/drug effects*
  • Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists/pharmacology
  • Zebrafish/physiology
  • Larva
  • In Situ Hybridization/methods
  • RNA, Messenger/biosynthesis
  • Time Factors
  • Drug Interactions
  • Seizures/chemically induced
  • Seizures/drug therapy
  • Seizures/physiopathology
  • Superior Colliculi/cytology
  • Superior Colliculi/drug effects
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/metabolism*
PubMed
15730879 Full text @ Neuroscience
Abstract
Rodent seizure models have significantly contributed to our basic understanding of epilepsy. However, medically intractable forms of epilepsy persist and the fundamental mechanisms underlying this disease remain unclear. Here we show that seizures can be elicited in a simple vertebrate system e.g. zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio). Exposure to a common convulsant agent (pentylenetetrazole, PTZ) induced a stereotyped and concentration-dependent sequence of behavioral changes culminating in clonus-like convulsions. Extracellular recordings from fish optic tectum revealed ictal and interictal-like electrographic discharges after application of PTZ, which could be blocked by tetrodotoxin or glutamate receptor antagonists. Epileptiform discharges were suppressed by commonly used antiepileptic drugs, valproate and diazepam, in a concentration-dependent manner. Up-regulation of c-fos expression was also observed in CNS structures of zebrafish exposed to PTZ. Taken together, these results demonstrate that chemically-induced seizures in zebrafish exhibit behavioral, electrographic, and molecular changes that would be expected from a rodent seizure model. Therefore, zebrafish larvae represent a powerful new system to study the underlying basis of seizure generation, epilepsy and epileptogenesis.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping