Differential prostaglandin formation induced by convulsions in the brain of mice susceptible (DBA/2J) and resistant (CFLP) to acoustic stimulation.

Endogenous cerebral prostanoids possess anticonvulsant properties. This study investigates possible age-dependent anomalies of prostanoid synthesis in the brain of seizure-prone DBA/2J (DBA2) mice as compared to sound stimulus-resistant CFLP mice. Irrespective of the age of the animals, a large increase of prostaglandin (PG) D2 and E2 in the brain of CFLP mice was observed in response to pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-, or electroshock (ES)-induced seizures. Significantly less PGD2 and PGE2 was formed in the brain of DBA2 mice at day 21 after birth when subjected to PTZ or ES convulsions. At 42 days of age, however, this deficit of cerebral PGD2 synthesis in DBA2 mice disappeared concomitantly with the age-related decrease in audiogenic seizure (AS) susceptibility, whereas the deficit of PGE2 formation persisted. These results suggest that a deficiency of cerebral PGD2 synthesis may be one of the factors responsible for the AS susceptibility of the DBA2 mice. In contrast to PTZ or ES convulsions, acoustically induced seizures of the DBA2 mice were not accompanied by cerebral prostanoid synthesis. This supports the view that the pathways involved in AS are different from those involved in PTZ or ES models of epilepsy.