Rapamycin has paradoxical effects on S6 phosphorylation in rats with and without seizures

Purpose Accumulating data have demonstrated that seizures induced by kainate (KA) or pilocarpine activate the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway and mTOR inhibitor rapamycin can inhibit mTOR activation which subsequently has potential anti-epileptic effects. However, a preliminary study showed a paradoxical exacerbation of increased mTOR pathway activity reflected by S6 phosphorylation when rapamycin was administrated within a short period before KA injection. In the present study, we examined this paradoxical effect of rapamycin in more detail, both in normal rats and KA-injected animals.