Endogenous neurosteroids modulate epileptogenesis in a model of temporal lobe epilepsy

Neurosteroids modulate seizure susceptibility, but their role in the regulation of epileptogenesis is unknown. Status epilepticus (SE) induces temporal lobe epileptogenesis following a latent period in which glial cells are activated. Here, we found that P450scc, the rate-limiting enzyme in steroid synthesis, is upregulated in hippocampal glia during the latent period after pilocarpine-induced SE in rats. More prolonged SE was associated with greater P450scc expression and longer latencies to the development of seizures, suggesting that enhanced steroid synthesis retards epileptogenesis. The 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride, which blocks neurosteroid synthesis, reduced the latent period, indicating that glia-derived neurosteroids may be antiepileptogenic.