Subacute administration of fluoxetine prevents short-term brain hypometabolism and reduces brain damage markers induced by the lithium-pilocarpine model of epilepsy in rats

• Short-term brain hypometabolism appeared upon pilocarpine administration in rats.
• Neurodegeneration, gliosis and apoptosis were induced by pilocarpine.
• Subacute fluoxetine prevented metabolic impairment induced by pilocarpine.
• Brain damage markers induced by pilocarpine were reduced by subacute fluoxetine.
• Fluoxetine increased GABAA receptor density in rats injected with pilocarpine.

The role of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) in epileptogenesis still remains controversial. In this regard, it has been reported that serotonergic drugs can alter epileptogenesis in opposite ways. The main objective of this work was to investigate the effect of the selective 5-HT selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine administered subacutely (10 mg/kg/day × 7 days) on the eventual metabolic impairment induced by the lithium-pilocarpine model of epilepsy in rats. In vivo 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose ([18F] FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) was performed to assess the brain glucose metabolic activity on days 3 and 30 after the insult. In addition, at the end of the experiment (day 33), several histochemical and neurochemical assessments were performed for checking the neuronal functioning and integrity.Three days after the insult, a marked reduction of [18F] FDG uptake (about 30% according to the brain region) was found in all brain areas studied. When evaluated on day 30, although a hypometabolism tendency was observed, no statistically significant reduction was present in any region analyzed. In addition, lithium-pilocarpine administration was associated with medium-term hippocampal and cortical damage, since it induced neurodegeneration, glial activation and augmented caspase-9 expression. Regarding the effect of fluoxetine, subacute treatment with this SSRI did not significantly reduce the mortality rate observed after pilocarpine-induced seizures. However, fluoxetine did prevent not only the short-term metabolic impairment, but also the aforementioned signs of neuronal damage in surviving animals to lithium-pilocarpine protocol. Finally, fluoxetine increased the density of GABAA receptor both at the level of the dentate gyrus and CA1–CA2 regions in pilocarpine-treated animals. Overall, our data suggest a protective role for fluoxetine against pilocarpine-induced brain damage. Moreover, this action may be associated with an increase of GABAA receptor expression in hippocampus.