Withdrawal from chronic
ethanol consumption can be accompanied by
motor seizures, which may be a result of altered
GABA(A) receptor function. Recently, we have generated and characterized mice lacking the epsilon
isoform of
protein kinase C as being supersensitive to the behavioral and biochemical effects of positive
GABA(A) receptor allosteric modulators, including
ethanol. The aim of the present study was to determine whether
protein kinase C-epsilon null mutant mice display altered seizure severity during alcohol withdrawal. In addition, we used c-fos immunohistochemistry immediately following seizure assessment to identify potential brain regions involved in any observed differences in withdrawal severity. Mice were allowed to consume an
ethanol-containing or control liquid diet as the sole source of food for 14 days. During the 7-h period following removal of the diet, both
ethanol-fed wild-type and
protein kinase C-epsilon null mutant mice displayed an overall increase in Handling-Induced Convulsion score versus control-fed mice. However, at 6 and 7h following diet removal, the Handling-Induced Convulsion score was reduced in
ethanol-fed
protein kinase C-epsilon null mutant mice compared to
ethanol-fed wild-type mice.
Ethanol-fed
protein kinase C-epsilon null mutant mice also exhibited a decrease in the number of Fos-positive cells in the lateral septum, and an increase in the number of Fos-positive cells in the dentate gyrus, mediodorsal thalamus, paraventricular nuclei of the thalamus and hypothalamus, and substantia nigra compared to
ethanol-fed wild-type mice. These data demonstrate that deletion of
protein kinase C-epsilon results in diminished progression of
ethanol withdrawal-associated seizure severity, suggesting that selective pharmacological inhibitors of
protein kinase C-epsilon may be useful in the treatment of
seizures during alcohol withdrawal. These data also provide insight into potential brain regions involved in generation or suppression of
ethanol withdrawal
seizures.