Changes of immunoreactive somatostatin and beta-endorphin content in rat brain after amygdaloid kindling.

A possible contribution of brain beta-endorphin and somatostatin to the epileptogenicity established by amygdaloid kindling was investigated in rats. Fourteen male rats were chronically implanted with electrodes placed bilaterally into the amygdala. The rats received 1 sec of electrical stimulation to the left amygdala each day. Generalized seizures were observed on average 10 days after initiation of kindling and the electrical stimulation was continued up to twenty-one days. Two months after the completion of the kindling procedure, each kindled and control rat was killed by microwave irradiation and the brains were dissected on ice into thirteen subregions. Each region was homogenized and centrifuged twice in 0.1 N acetic acid. The supernatant extracts were decanted and stored at - 20 degrees C until assay. Immunoreactive beta-endorphin and somatostatin were measured by radioimmunoassays. There were no significant differences in brain beta-endorphin contents between the two groups. In kindled rats, immunoreactive somatostatin was increased significantly in amygdala, sensorimotor, piriform, and entorhinal cortex. The results suggest that changes in somatostatin may be associated with epileptic susceptibility induced by the electrical kindling procedure.