Monitoring of brain spiking activity and autoantibodies to N-terminus domain of GluR1 subunit of AMPA receptors in blood serum of rats with cobalt-induced epilepsy

We have monitored EEG spontaneous spiking activity and analyzed serum from rats with cobalt-induced epilepsy for the presence of autoreactive antibodies to alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) glutamate receptor subunits. The presence and the level of autoantibodies were assessed using immunoblot and ELISA with synthetic peptide specific to the N-terminus domain of the GluR1 subunit of the AMPA receptor. Rats with cobalt-induced epilepsy exhibited strong GluR1 immunoreactivity at the end of the first week after surgery compared with vehicle-treated rats. We showed that GluR1 autoantibodies in blood serum of rats with cobalt-induced epilepsy preceded the spiking activity maximum in the EEG. Levels of autoantibodies to GluR1 detected in blood of these rats remained elevated when EEG spiking activity was significantly reduced and seizures disappeared. The EEG monitoring of spiking activity showed a correlation with accumulation of GluR1 autoantibodies in blood serum of rats with cobalt-induced epilepsy.