ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the influence of gastrodin on IL-10, JAK2 and STAT3 in hippocampus of epileptic rats induced by pentylenetetrazol and the role of the IL-10 pathway in epilepsy. Methods: 50 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: normal control group (NC Group), epilepsy model group (EP Group), low doses of gastrodin + EP Group (GE1 Group), medium doses of gastrodin + EP Group (GE2 Group), high doses of gastrodin + EP Group (GE3 Group). EP group and GE Groups were injected subthreshold doses of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) by intraperitoneal once a day until reaching the ignited standards. GE groups were respectively injected 4, 6, 8 mg/kg gastrodin by intraperitoneal. All groups were administered for 28 consecutive days. The behavioral changes of the rats were observed and recorded daily 1 hour after the injection. mRNAs of IL-10, STAT3 and JAK2 in hippocampus were measured by RT-qPCR, and proteins by Western blot. Results: Compared GE2 group with EP group, the incubation of seizure was significantly prolonged (P < 0.01), the duration was shorter (P < 0.01) and the intensity was reduced (P < 0.05). Compared with NC group, IL-10 expression levels in hippocampus were significantly decreased in EP group, and JAK2 and STAT3 expression levels were significantly increased. Compared with EP group, IL-10 expression levels in hippocampus were significantly increased in GE2 group, and STAT3 and JAK2 expression levels were significantly decreased in GE2 groups. The mRNA and protein levels of STAT3 and JAK2 were higher while IL-10 was lower in the PTZ group than in the NC group. However, the mRNA and protein levels of STAT3 and JAK2 were lower while IL-10 was higher in the GE2 group than in the PTZ group. Conclusions: Gastrodin can increase the expression of IL-10, and reduce the expression of STAT3 and JAK2, which may play an antiepileptic effect through regulating JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathways by IL-10.