Abstract: The aim was to explore the role of astrocytes in the pentylenetetrozal kindling model. With the immunohistochemical method and the image analyzing system, changes of GFAP immunoreaction positive cells in the cortex of PTZ kindling rat were observed at each stage. After PTZ injection in rats, GFAP change began increasing at Ⅲ-Grade group, reaching peak at V-Grade group. In the epilepsy model of PTZ kindling, as the progress of kindling, the express of GFAP immunoreaction increased gradually. It suggests that increased GFAP may be one of the reasons for epilesic seizure by PTZ kindling.

Key words: pentylenetetrazol, kindling, cortex, glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)