SUPPRESSION OF AUDIOGENIC EPILEPTIC SEIZURES BY INTRACEREBRAL INJECTION OF A CCK GENE VECTOR

P77PMC rat is a breed of rat with congenital audiogenic seizure (AS). AS attacks could be suppressed by cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) injected intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.). In the present study we made i.c.v. injection of plasmid pSV2-beta-Gal or pSV2-CCK encapsulated with lipofectin. Expression of pSV2-beta-Gal in brain occurred from d 1 to d 14, with maximal expression at d 3 and d 4. After i.c.v. injection of pSV2-CCK plasmid, the AS of the P77PMC rats was markedly reduced, which was most obvious at d 3 and d 4. The time course of the AS repression was almost identical with that of pSV2-beta-Gal expression. The results suggest that the repression of the AS in P77PMC rats is accounted for by the expression of foreign CCK gene in brain tissue.