Evaluating the impact of Pomalidomide on memory dysfunction induced by neuroinflammation in Pentylenetetrazole-seizure model of male Wistar rats.

Abstract

Neuroinflammation, a consequence and cause of epileptic seizures, is one of the leading causes of memory dysfunction in epileptic patients. The; current study evaluated Pomalidomide's; (POM) anti-inflammatory effect on passive avoidance memory impairments caused by Pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure in male Wistar rats. Rats were grouped into five groups, including control, Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), and treatment groups. Three groups were pretreated with different doses of Pomalidomide (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg) before PTZ 70 (mg/kg). The Shuttle box test was utilized to examine passive avoidance memory and learning. Finally, brain samples were prepared under deep anesthesia and used for histological observation and gene expression studies. Based on data analysis Pomalidomide -pretreated groups showed better memory performance than either the control or the PTZ group (P < 0.05). Also, the anti-inflammatory effects of POM caused the expression of Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB) and Tumor necrosis factor alpha (Tnf-α) in the hippocampus to decrease significantly compared to the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, histological examinations obtained from H&E staining in the hippocampus also showed the protective effects of the Pomalidomide. The results indicated that Pomalidomide reduced the expression of inflammatory mediators in the hippocampus and has a neuroprotective effect. It seems that in this way it reduces memory impairments caused by acute seizure induction.