Table 1.
Amino acid levels in the epileptic hippocampus following methionine treatment
| Amino acids (pmol/μg protein) | Non-epileptic | Epileptic | Epileptic + Met |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methionine | 1.4 | 1.3 | 8.3***### |
| Aspartic | 59.5 | 52.6 | 44.0 |
| Serine | 36.3 | 29.2 | 27.6* |
| Glutamic acid | 261.8 | 214.3 | 187.5* |
| Glycine | 22.0 | 12.9*** | 10.6*** |
| Histidine | 106.4 | 92.6 | 90.2 |
| Taurine | 219.8 | 194.6 | 194.5 |
| Arginine | 3.1 | 3.9 | 6.3* |
| Threonine | 17.2 | 15.6 | 15.3 |
| Alanine | 21.0 | 17.8 | 16.8 |
| Proline | 15.2 | 13.2 | 11.3 |
| GABA | 41.2 | 34.5 | 36.5 |
| Cystine | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| Tyrosine | 2.9 | 2.2* | 2.0* |
| Valine | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
| Lysine | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.7 |
| Isoleucine | 129.5 | 118.2 | 125.0 |
| Phenylalanine | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Leucine | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
Epileptic animals show significant deficits in glycine and tyrosine levels compared to vehicle (saline)-treated non-epileptic controls. Met-treated epileptic animals showed a sevenfold increase in hippocampal Met levels compared to non-epileptic and epileptic groups. Met-treated epileptic animals had significantly lower serine, glutamic acid, glycine, and tyrosine levels compared to the non-epileptic group. Arginine levels were significantly elevated in the hippocampus of epileptic Met-treated animals compared to the non-epileptic group. (*P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001, ###P < 0.001; n = 4, one-way ANOVA with post hoc test. *Significance relative to non-epileptic animals; #significance relative to epileptic animals). ANOVA, analysis of variance; GABA, γ-aminobutyric acid.