Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5630551 | Neurobiology of Disease | 2017 | 10 Pages |
â¢Status epilepticus promotes calpain overactivation.â¢Acute treatment with a pharmacological inhibitor of calpain ameliorates seizure burden.â¢Pathologies associated with epileptogenesis were reduced by a calpain inhibitor.
In this study, we used the pilocarpine model of epilepsy to evaluate the involvement of calpain dysregulation on epileptogenesis. Detection of spectrin breakdown products (SBDPs, a hallmark of calpain activation) after induction of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) and before appearance of spontaneous seizure suggested the existence of sustained calpain activation during epileptogenesis. Acute treatment with a cell permeable inhibitor of calpain, MDL-28170, resulted in a partial but significant reduction on seizure burden. The reduction on seizure burden was associated with a limited reduction on the generation of SBDPs but was correlated with a reduction in astrocytosis, microglia activation and cell sprouting. Together, these observations provide evidence for the role of calpain in epileptogenesis. In addition, provide proof-of-principle for the use of calpain inhibitors as a novel strategy to prevent epileptic seizures and its associated pathologies.