Reduced neuronal proliferation by proconvulsant drugs in the developing zebrafish brain

Seizures have been reported to modify neural development in the immature brain. In this study, we attempted to determine whether pentylenetetrazol (a GABAergic receptor antagonist, PTZ)-induced seizures influence cell proliferation in zebrafish larvae (5 and 15 days of post-fertilization), using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) to label dividing cells. In the brains of 5 dpf larvae, PTZ treatment significantly reduced the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the telencephalic area (pallium and subpallium), diencephalic area (thalamus and preoptic area), medial tectal proliferation zone, and medial cerebellar proliferation zone to 52.4%, 62.9%, 47.2%, and 54.0% of the controls, respectively. In contrast, we noted no reductions in the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the brains of the 15 dpf larvae. The double-label of BrdU and Hu, a neuronal marker, demonstrated that the majority of newborn cells showed the neuronal phenotype.Similarly, kainic acid (200 µM), a glutamatergic receptor agonist, significantly reduced the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the telencephalic area, diencephalic area, and medial tectal proliferation zone to 51.4%, 61.9%, and 40.4% of the controls, respectively. Physostigmine (500 µM), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, also reduced the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the telencephalic area, diencephalic area, medial tectal proliferation zone, and medial cerebellar proliferation zone to 52.8%, 35.9%, 30.5%, and 39.8% of the controls, respectively. All of these drugs resulted in electrographic seizures in the larval brain when perfused directly through artificial cerebrospinal fluid. These results indicated that seizures result in a massive reduction in cell proliferation in wide-ranging areas of the developing brain.