The
lack of disease-modifying therapeutic strategies against epileptic
seizures has caused a surge in preclinical research focused on exploring
and developing novel therapeutic candidates for epilepsy. Compounds
from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have gained much attention
for a plethora of neurological diseases, including epilepsy. Herein,
for the first time, we evaluated the anticonvulsive effects of schaftoside
(SS), a TCM, on pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced epileptic seizures
in zebrafish and examined the underlying mechanisms. We observed that
SS pretreatments significantly suppressed seizure-like behavior and
prolonged the onset of seizures. Zebrafish larvae pretreated with
SS demonstrated downregulation of c-fos expression
during seizures. PTZ-induced upregulation of apoptotic cells was decreased
upon pretreatment with SS. Inflammatory phenomena during seizure progression
including the upregulation of interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and nuclear
factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) were downregulated upon pretreatment with SS. The PTZ-induced recruitment
of immunocytes was in turn reduced upon SS pretreatment. Moreover,
SS pretreatment modulated oxidative stress, as demonstrated by decreased
levels of catalase (CAT) and increased levels of
glutathione peroxidase-1a (GPx1a) and manganese superoxide
dismutase (Mn-SOD). However, pretreatment with SS
modulated the PTZ-induced downregulation of the relative enzyme activity
of CAT, GPx, and SOD. Hence, our findings suggest that SS pretreatment
ameliorates PTZ-induced seizures, suppresses apoptosis, and downregulates
the inflammatory response and oxidative stress, which potentially
protect against further seizures in zebrafish.
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