Taurine Protects from Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Behavioral and Neurochemical Changes in Zebrafish

AbstractEpilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures, which culminate in various neurobehavioral and neurochemical changes. Taurine (TAU) is an amino sulfonic acid which acts an endogenous inhibitory neuromodulator. Moreover, TAU displays intrinsic antioxidant activity, contributing to its beneficial actions in the CNS. Here, we evaluated whether TAU pretreatment protects from pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced behavioral alterations and oxidative stress-related parameters in zebrafish brain tissue. Fish were pretreated with 42, 150, and 400  mg/L TAU (40 min) and further exposed to 10 mM PTZ (20 min) to analyze the seizure-like behaviors. As a positive control, another group was previously treated with 75 μM diazepam (DZP). Afterwards, biochemical experiments were performed. All TAU concentrations tested decreased seizure intensi ty in the first 150 s. Importantly, 150 mg/L TAU attenuated seizure-like behavioral scores, decreased seizure intensity, reduced the frequency of clonic-like seizures (score 4), and increased the latency to score 4. TAU (150 mg/L) also prevented oxidative stress in PTZ-challenged fish by decreasi ng lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation and preventing changes on nonprotein thiol levels. No significant changes were observed in MTT assay and LDH activity. Differently than observed in DZP group, TAU did not affect the overall swimming activity of fish, suggesting different mechanisms of action....

Source: Molecular Neurobiology - May 11, 2018 Category: Neurology Source Type: research