Effects of Triptolide on Astrocytes Induced by KA Injection Into Rat Hippocampus

Objective:To observe changes of astrocytes in hippocampus of rats under the injection of Kainic acid and the effect of triptolide(TRP)on them.Methods:90 SD rats were divided randomly into three groups:NS treated after NS injection into the right dor- sal hippocampus group(NS+NS,n=30);NS treated after KA injection into the right dorsal hippocampus group(KA+NS,n=30);TRP treated after KA injection into the right dorsal hippocampus group(TRP+KA,n=30).The animals were sacrificed at 1 d,3d,5d,7d,14d after KA injection.The histochemical method and image-analysis technique were used to detect the changes of the number and morphol- ogy of astrocytes.Results:In KA+NS group,the number of the astrocytes in hippocampus increased significantly,and the cell bodies got thicker and the processes became shorter and thicker,compared with NS+NS group(p0.05).In TRP+KA group,the number of astro- cytes decreased and the cell bodies became smaller and the processes got longer and thinner than those of KA+NS group(P0.01).Con- clusion:The injection of KA into the hippocampus results in the activation of astrocytes and the treatment of TRP can rescue the effect of KA on astrocytes.