Amyloid precursor protein mRNA encoding the Kunitz protease inhibitor domain is increased by kainic acid-induced seizures in rat hippocampus.

A 168-nucleotide exon, found in alternatively spliced amyloid precursor protein (APP) mRNAs, encodes a Kunitz protease inhibitor (KPI) domain. Kainic acid (ip) caused a selective increase of KPI mRNA in rat hippocampus. By in situ hybridization, KPI mRNA was induced in the neuronal layers of the hippocampus 11-12 h after the onset of kainate-induced seizures. The kainate-induced elevation of the KPI-containing APP-770 mRNA was blocked by pretreatment with the anticonvulsant pentobarbital. These data suggest that kainate-induced seizures cause alterations in APP RNA stability and/or processing in rat hippocampal neurons.