The rearrangement of synaptic actin networks after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus and pentylenetetrazol-induced kindling

Post status epilepticus (SE) and chemical kindling are two widely used animal models for epileptic studies The pilocarpine-treated C57BL/6 mice exhibited stereotypical alterations of F-actin networks, including a severe reduction of F-actin in area CA1-CA3 and in the hilum. By contrast, F-actin networks seemed less affected by pentylenetetrazol kindling, and almost no remarkable alterations were noted in area CA1 or in the hilum. The overall labeling of F-actin in the hippocampus was generally consistent with the pathological observations on dendritic spines reported in both the epileptic models. Because the reorganized F-actin network can lead to long-term stabilization of synaptic changes and to consolidation of the enhanced neuronal activity, the alterations of F-actin networks may be related to the aberrant hyperexcitability in the epileptic animals.