[Effects of scorpion venom heat-resistant protein on kainic acid induced-damage of cultured primitive rat hippocampal neuropeptide Y-nergic neurons].

Aim: To investigate the effects of scorpion venom heat-resistant protein (SVHRP) on kainic acid induced-damage of cultured primitive rat hippocampal neuropeptide Y-nergic neurons.

Methods: We observed morphological changes, celluar vigor, NPY-immunoreactivity and NPY mRNA expression by means of Thionine staining, MTT assay, immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR, respectively, on the primitively cultured Sprague-Dawley rat hippocampal neuron treated with KA and SVHRP for 24 h.

Results: MTT assay and morphologic analysis showed that SVHRP markedly increased neuron survival-rate, and protected them from kA-induced damage. The expression of NPY-immunoreactivity and NPY mRNA in SVHRP group increased obviously compared with other groups.

Conclusion: SVHRP protected the primitively cultured hippocampal neurons from KA-induced neuroexcitotoxicity and promoted the expression of NPY.