Apigenin inhibits mossy fiber sprouting in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy

Background and Aim : Introduction: Aberrant sprouting of granule cell axons (mossy fibers) into the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus is a common neuropathological finding in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). MFS establishes an aberrant positive-feedback circuit among granule cells, which has been proposed to be epileptogenic. Flavonoids have recently been considered in the treatment of epilepsy. This study investigates the effects of apigenin on MFS and epileptic behaviors in a rat model of TLE.Methods : Methods: 32 rats were randomely divided to 4 groups: Control vehicle, apigenin-sham, kainic acid, apigenin+kainic acid. For evaluating the anticonvulsant effect of apigenin in the kainite TLE model, apigenin was orally administered (50 mg/kg) for six days. MFS, neuronal loss and neurodegeneration in the hippocampus were measured using by Timm and Nissl staining and Fluoro-jade B (Fj-B) respectively.Results : Results: Our results showed that oral administration of apigenin could reduce susceptibility to seizures (P<0.01) and lead to the inhibition of MFS (P<0.001) in the KA-treated hippocampus. Moreover, pretreatment with apigenin significantly reduced the neural loss and neurodegenerationin hilar region of the hippocampus (P<0.001) compared with KA-treated group.Conclusion : Conclution: These results suggest that apigenin has a therapeutic potential against epilepsy through its abilities to inhibit MFS and neurodegenerative events in the invivo hippocampus.

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Key words: Apigenin ، TLE ، MFS ، Neurodegeneration