Author(s): Na Yan, Ning Chen, Wei Gao and Wei Wang
Anterior nucleus of thalamus (ANT) stimulation has been proved to be effective in the treatment of refractory epilepsy, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. We examined the role of ANT stimulation on hippocampal neuron death after seizures induced by kainic acid (KA). Our data showed that ANT stimulation could significantly rescue neurons from death induced by seizures, by reducing the release of cytochrome c (cyto c) and also via apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) induced by seizures through inhibiting the activated caspase-9 and caspase-3. Our data suggest that ANT stimulation may protect against neuronal loss and reduce neuronal injury in the ipsilateral CA3 region of the hippocampus in the KA-induced epileptic rats, and the underlying mechanism may be mediated by inhibiting mitochondrial caspase-dependent (cyto c release and the subsequent cleavage of caspase-) and caspase-independent (nuclear translocation of AIF) apoptosis pathways.
