Objective(s): Nuclear receptor-related protein 1 (Nurr1), one of immediate-early genes, is a member of orphan nuclear receptor family. The aim of this study was to investigate the time-dependent change of Nurr1 protein expression in the mouse hippocampal CA3 region following kainic acid (KA)-induced excitotoxic neuronal damage.Materials and Methods:</...

Glutamate induces excitotoxic damage to hippocampal pyramidal neurons in Status Epilepticus (SE) and epilepsy. In this study, we investigated time course of dysregulation of calcium homeostasis at various intervals after an episode of SE in acutely isolated CA1hippocampal pyramidal. For this purpose, male Sprague-Dawley rats (200 g) were subjected to pilocarpine-induced SE. The SE was blocked a...

Excitotoxic neuronal death induced by intracerebral injection of NMDA is a widely used model for investigating the potentially neuroprotective action of pharmacological agents against brain insults involving excitotoxic processes. Surprisingly, the time-course of NMDA-induced brain damage yet has not been investigated in the rat. Answering this question clearly needs to be assessed, given that ...

Morbidity and mortality from head trauma is highest among children. No animal model mimicking traumatic brain injury in children has yet been established, and the mechanisms of neuronal degeneration after traumatic injury to the developing brain are not understood. In infant rats subjected to percussion head trauma, two types of brain damage could be characterized. The first type or primary dam...

Myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF2) transcription factors are activated by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase during neuronal and myogenic differentiation. Recent work has shown that stimulation of this pathway is antiapoptotic during development but proapoptotic in mature neurons exposed to excitotoxic or other stress. We now report that excitotoxic (N-methyl-D-aspartate) insults to mature cere...

Glutamate induces excitotoxic damage to hippocampal pyramidal neurons in Status Epilepticus (SE) and epilepsy. In this study, we investigated time course of dysregulation of calcium homeostasis at various intervals after an episode of SE in acutely isolated CA1hippocampal pyramidal. For this purpose, male Sprague-Dawley rats (200 g) were subjected to pilocarpine-induced SE. The SE was blocked a...

Mitochondria release proteins that propagate both caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death pathways. AIF (apoptosis-inducing factor) is an important caspase-independent death regulator in multiple neuronal injury pathways. Presently, there is considerable controversy as to whether AIF is neuroprotective or proapoptotic in neuronal injury, such as oxidative stress or excitotoxicity. ...