Figure 9
ΔRR vaccination protects from KA-induced seizures and neuronal loss. (A) Sprague Dawley rats were given 3 intranasal doses of ΔRR or ΔPK (5 × 106 pfu) or PBS, and given of KA (15 mg/kg) 24 hrs later by i.p. injection. They were examined for behavioral changes for 5 hours and rated on a scale of: 0, normal; 1, catatonic staring and immobilization; 2, 'wet-dog shakes', abnormal ambulation, stretching of limbs; 3, rearing and falling behavior; 4, tonic-clonic seizure activity; 5, death. Average behavioral score ± SEM is presented for each hour of observation. The % animals in each treatment group experiencing a behavioral score = 4 at any time during the observation period is shown. (B) Coronal sections of brains collected 2 days later were stained with thionin. The numbers of neurons were counted in 3 randomly selected fields of 29 μm2 (at least 250 cells) from 5 serial sections for all animals and the data are expressed as % neuronal loss ± SEM relative to untreated brains.