Epilepsy-induced changes in signaling systems of human and rat postsynaptic densities.

Purpose: To study seizure-induced changes in signaling proteins present in postsynaptic densities (PSDs) isolated from human epileptic neocortex and from rat cortex in which seizures were induced by injection of kainic acid.

Methods: We performed Western blot analysis of signaling proteins in PSDs isolated from cortical tissue.

Results: Seizures induce a strong upregulation of TrkB, the receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), whereas components of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor complex are downregulated in both human and rat PSDs.

Conclusions: These data show that long-term changes in PSD composition occur as a consequence of epileptic seizure activity.