To confirm the roles of D-serinergic gliotransmission in epilepsy, we investigated the relationship between spatiotemporally specific glial responses and the D-serine/serine racemase system in mesial temporal structures following status epilepticus (SE). In control animals, D-serine and serine racemase immunoreactivities were detected mainly in astrocytes. After SE, D-serine and serine racemase immunoreactivities were increased in astrocytes. Double-immunofluorescence study revealed that up-regulation of serine racemase immunoreactivity was relevant not to D-serine immunoreactivity but to nestin or vimentin immunoreactivity. Neither D-serine nor serine racemase was found in naïve or reactive microglia. In addition, phosphorylated N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit 1 (pNR1-Ser896) immunoreactivity in the hippocampus was increased compared with controls. Increased D-serine immunoreactivity showed direct correlation with the phosphorylation of Ser896 of NR1. Given the findings of our previous study, these findings suggest that D-serine and serine racemase in astrocytes may play roles in neuronal hyperexcitability via a cooperative activation of NMDA receptors. Furthermore, serine racemase may be involved in migration and differentiation of immature astrocytes, which is relevant to reactive astrogliosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.