Modulation of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor and Nerve Growth Factor Gene Expression in the Hippocampus and Cortex Regions of Rats with Penicillin-induced Experimental Epilepsy: The Effect of Adenosine Triphosphate-sensitive Potassium Channels

A BSTRACT Objective: The objective is to investigate the effect of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive potassium (K ATP ) channels on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) gene expression in the hippocampus and cortex regions using a penicillin-induced epilepsy model. Materials and Methods: The study included four groups, control (C), epilepsy (E), epilepsy-opener (E-O), and epilepsy-blocker (E-B), and three subgroups, 1 st day, 4 th day, and 8 th day after the seizure. The hippocampus and cortex were dissected from all animals and BDNF and NGF messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression levels were quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results: The relative gene expression of the NGF gene evaluated in hippocampal tissues was found to be significantly higher in the epilepsy 1 st -day group compared with the C group ( P < 0.05). The relative gene expression of the NGF gene in cortex tissues was found to be significantly higher in the epilepsy 8 th -day group compared with the C group ( P < 0.05). The relative gene expression of the BDNF gene in hippocampal tissues was also significantly higher in the epilepsy 1 st -day group compared with the C group ( P < 0.05). BDNF gene expression levels in the cortex region were significantly higher in the E group on the 8 th day, in the E-O group on the 1 st , 4 th , and 8 th days, and in the E-B group on the 1 st day; BDNF gene expression level was also significantly higher in the E-B group on the 8 th day compared with the C group ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: K ATP channels play a modulatory role in the expression levels of BDNF and NGF genes in the cortex over an extended period of 8 days, parallel to their efficacy observed in the hippocampus on day 1. These mechanisms need to be thoroughly investigated and emphasized due to their importance.