ACTH and Low Melanocortin-2 Receptor Expression Inhibit Infantile Spasm (IS) Seizures in Prenatal Stress (PS) Exposed Rats

Infantile spasm (IS) is a catastrophic epileptic syndrome of childhood and is usually insensitive to conventional antiepileptic drugs. Studies revealed that prenatal stress (PS) exposure and Melanocortin-2 Receptor (MC2R) may be involved in the pathogenesis of IS. However, the exact mechanism still remains unknown.
In this study, PS was initially given to Wistar rats and ACTH injection was performed in offsprings. Seizure was then induced and evaluated, followed by MC2R immunohistochemistry and expression detection.
Significant differences in seizure number, MC2R and CRH expressions were observed among different subgroups.
Our study suggested that PS exposure may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of IS. ACTH together with low expression of MC2R, may inhibit IS seizures.