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KMID : 1031120110010010006
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Journal of Epilepsy Research
2011 Volume.1 No. 1 p.6 ~ p.12
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Increased Expression of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha in the Rat Hippocampus after Acute Homocysteine Administration
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Kim Seon-Hee
Kim Kwang-Soo
Ahn Ji-Hyun
Chang Hee-Kyung
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Abstract
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Background and Purpose: This paper evaluated the effect of acute homocysteine administration on inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) expression and neuronal apoptosis in the rat hippocampus and investigated the effects of vitamin C treatment on homocysteine-induced inflammation and neuronal death.
Methods: Subjects were three-week-old, male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats for the control group, we injected saline solution into the rats’ abdominal cavities for one week. Rats in the second group received 1 injection of homocysteine (11 mmol/kg) into their abdominal cavities after 1 week of saline solution administration. For the third group, we injected the rats with vitamin C (100 mg/kg) for a week, followed by 1 injection of homocysteine. The hippocampi were stained with an anti-TNF-α antibody, and apoptosis was evaluated using the TUNEL staining method.
Results: The homocysteine-injected rats had strong TNF-α expression in every hippocampal region. Vitamin C significantly reduced TNF-α expression in the hippocampus’s CA1 region. Acute homocysteine administration did not cause apoptosis in the hippocampus.
Conclusions: The pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α may mediate elevated homocysteine levels’ contributions to inflammatory reactions, and vitamin C has some protective effect on inflammatory reactions in the CA1 hippocampal region.
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KEYWORD
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Homocysteine, TNF-α, Apoptosis, Vitamin C, Hippocampus
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