Gene expression profiling reveals the mechanism of action of anticonvulsant drug QYS

We have examined the gene expression profiling of inferior colliculus from DBA/2J mice with high-intensity noise induced audiogenic seizure (AGS). We have also tested the effects of Qingyangshenylycosides (QYS), a traditional Chinese medicine, on the audiogenic seizure, and examined how the drug affected the gene expressions in inferior colliculus. Our results demonstrated that the latency was increased and the Tonus% of AGS was decreased in the animals treated with QYS, indicating that the drug effectively prevented audiogenic seizure. Gene expression analysis using Agilent oligo microarray showed that total of 134 genes were either up- or down-regulated during AGS. QYS prevented many of the AGS induced gene expression changes. Nevertheless, some of the AGS induced genes were further enhanced or reversed by QYS treatment. Our gene expression profiling data provided important information regarding the molecular mechanisms of AGS and the mechanism of action of QYS. Further analysis of the function of these genes may help to identify therapeutic targets for epilepsy. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.