Background: Kainic acid is a neuro-excitotoxic agent that can be used to study neurodegeneration in animals such as rats. As a specific agonist to kainate receptors kainic acid is able to modulate transmission and excitability. For this study, MeMRI was used to study in-vivo changes of neurons in response to kainic acid-induced excitotoxicity.
Methods:
- KA unilateral injections
- MeMRI (I.P 40mg/kg one injection)
- Bax immunohistochemistry
- Timm's Staining
- Hyperintensity was observed, as expected, in the hippocampal area in the side of the KA-injections. With a significant difference found between the ipsilateral sites of the injection and the contralateral sites.
- Bax immunohistochemistry was used to assess apoptotic cell death in regions induced with KA, and revealed a significant increase in the KA treated regions compared to the saline treated regions.
- The Timms staining showed increased mossy fiber sprouting and axonal plasticity in CA1 and CA3 granule cells in the hippocampus in KA treated regions compared to the control regions.
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