Neuropharmacological effects of lipoic acid and ubiquinone on the mRNA level of interleukin-1β and acetylcholinesterase activity in rat hippocampus after seizures.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of lipoic acid and ubiquinone on interleukin-1β (IL-1β) mRNA levels and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities in rat hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced seizures. Wistar rats were intraperitoneally administered with either 0.9% saline (icontrol group), LA (10 or 20 mg/kg, LA10 or LA20 groups), UQ (20 or 40 mg/kg, UQ20 and UQ40 groups), pilocarpine (400 mg/kg, P400 group), or co-administration of pilocarpine with LA or UQ groups 30 min prior to LA or UQ administration. After the treatments, all groups were observed for 1 h. IL-1β mRNA and AChE activity in rat hippocampus at 1 h after SE onset was determined. Results showed that rats pretreated with LA or UQ developed less seizures and SE more slowly and has less number than animals treated with pilocarpine alone. Reduced IL-1β mRNA and marked AChE activities in the hippocampus were significantly higher in rats pretreated with LA or UQ in comparison with the values of the control and seized groups. Our findings strongly support the hypothesis that an increase on IL-1β mRNA levels in hippocampus occurs during seizures induced by pilocarpine, which indicates that inflammatory process plays a crucial role in seizures pathogenic consequences. Our result also suggests that LA or UQ can exert significant neuroprotective effects, at least in part, because of the increase in the AChE activities in rat hippocampus that will be useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.