Electrophysiological, histopathological, and biochemical evaluation of the protective effect of probiotic supplementation against pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in rats.

Background And Purpose: Research on the relationship between the gut microbiome and epilepsy is accumulating. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation on pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in rats.

Methods: Twenty-one adult male Wistar albino rats were included. The animals were divided into three groups of seven rats. Group 1 was a control group, whereas Group 2 rats received PTZ treatment and Group 3 rats had PTZ+PB (probiotic) treatment. For 6 weeks, Groups 1 and 2 were given saline (1 ml), whereas Group 3 had probiotic supplement. In the 5th week, tripolar electrodes were attached to the rats. Electrophysiological, behavioral, biochemical, and immunohistochemical evaluations were performed in the 6 weeks after the treatment.

Results: PB treatment significantly reduced seizures. In the PTZ group, expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor (NGF), and Sox2 (SRY sex-determining region Y-box 2) in rat brains decreased significantly compared to the control group, whereas the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), total oxidant status (TOS), and nitric oxide (NO) levels increased. In the PTZ+PB group, NGF expression increased significantly compared to the PTZ group, whereas TNF-α, IL-6, TOS, and NO levels decreased. In histopathological examination, an abundance of necrotic neurons was notable in the PTZ group, which was less in the PTZ+PB group. In addition, body weight of the group supplemented with probiotics decreased after the treatment.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that probiotic supplementation may alleviate seizure severity and exert neuroprotective effects by reducing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress and altering the expression of neurotrophins in epileptogenic brains.