Suppression of pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures and c-fos expression in mouse brain by L-carnitine

Abstract

Seizure development in ddY mice was recorded on a videotape for 20 min after injection of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) (50 mg/kg) and analyzed in detail. In addition, expression of the c-fos gene in the brain was semi-quantified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. When saline, L- carnitine (10 mmol/kg), or D-carnitine (10 mmol/kg) was administered 30 min prior to PTZ, the seizures were suppressed in mice given L-carnitine; the seizure scores were significantly lower in mice treated with L-carnitine at several time points, and the overall seizure scores were 31.43 ± 2.49, 10.57 ± 2.86 and 24.71 ± 3.05 (expressed as the mean ± S.E.M., n=7), in saline, L-carnitine and D-carnitine groups, respectively. The latency to the first clonictonic seizure was also prolonged in mice treated with L-carnitine. The level of c-fos mRNA in the brain was lower in the animals treated with L- carnitine than in those treated with saline or D-carnitine. Thus, L-carnitine shows not only anticonvulsive effects in one of the most widely used animal models of chemically induced seizures but also the potential to suppress the seizure-associated expression of an immediate early gene in the brain.