Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic Epilepsy
Iron-induced experimental epilepsy in rodents reproduces features of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in humans. The neural network of the brain seems to be highly affected during the course of epileptogenesis and determines the occurrence of sudden and recurrent seizures. The aim of the current study...
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| author | Chandra Prakash Shyam Sunder Rabidas Jyoti Tyagi Deepak Sharma |
| author_facet | Chandra Prakash Shyam Sunder Rabidas Jyoti Tyagi Deepak Sharma |
| author_sort | Chandra Prakash |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Iron-induced experimental epilepsy in rodents reproduces features of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in humans. The neural network of the brain seems to be highly affected during the course of epileptogenesis and determines the occurrence of sudden and recurrent seizures. The aim of the current study was to evaluate astroglial and neuronal response as well as dendritic arborization, and the spine density of pyramidal neurons in the cortex and hippocampus of epileptic rats. We also evaluated the effect of exogenous administration of a neuroactive steroid, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), in epileptic rats. To induce epilepsy, male Wistar rats were given an intracortical injection of 100 mM solution (5 µL) of iron chloride (FeCl<sub>3</sub>). After 20 days, DHEA was administered intraperitoneally for 21 consecutive days. Results showed epileptic seizures and hippocampal Mossy Fibers (MFs) sprouting in epileptic rats, while DHEA treatment significantly reduced the MFs’ sprouting. Astroglial activation and neuronal loss were subdued in rats that received DHEA compared to epileptic rats. Dendritic arborization and spine density of pyramidal neurons was diminished in epileptic rats, while DHEA treatment partially restored their normal morphology in the cortex and hippocampus regions of the brain. Overall, these findings suggest that DHEA’s antiepileptic effects may contribute to alleviating astroglial activation and neuronal loss along with enhancing dendritic arborization and spine density in PTE. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:12:14Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:12:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
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| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5758a3bc996466981f8105ee497a7c12023-11-17T18:31:59ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252023-03-0113456310.3390/brainsci13040563Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic EpilepsyChandra Prakash0Shyam Sunder Rabidas1Jyoti Tyagi2Deepak Sharma3Neurobiology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, IndiaNeurobiology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, IndiaNeurobiology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, IndiaNeurobiology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, IndiaIron-induced experimental epilepsy in rodents reproduces features of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in humans. The neural network of the brain seems to be highly affected during the course of epileptogenesis and determines the occurrence of sudden and recurrent seizures. The aim of the current study was to evaluate astroglial and neuronal response as well as dendritic arborization, and the spine density of pyramidal neurons in the cortex and hippocampus of epileptic rats. We also evaluated the effect of exogenous administration of a neuroactive steroid, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), in epileptic rats. To induce epilepsy, male Wistar rats were given an intracortical injection of 100 mM solution (5 µL) of iron chloride (FeCl<sub>3</sub>). After 20 days, DHEA was administered intraperitoneally for 21 consecutive days. Results showed epileptic seizures and hippocampal Mossy Fibers (MFs) sprouting in epileptic rats, while DHEA treatment significantly reduced the MFs’ sprouting. Astroglial activation and neuronal loss were subdued in rats that received DHEA compared to epileptic rats. Dendritic arborization and spine density of pyramidal neurons was diminished in epileptic rats, while DHEA treatment partially restored their normal morphology in the cortex and hippocampus regions of the brain. Overall, these findings suggest that DHEA’s antiepileptic effects may contribute to alleviating astroglial activation and neuronal loss along with enhancing dendritic arborization and spine density in PTE.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/4/563epilepsyseizuresdehydroepiandrosteroneneuronal lossastroglial activationdendritic degeneration |
| spellingShingle | Chandra Prakash Shyam Sunder Rabidas Jyoti Tyagi Deepak Sharma Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic Epilepsy Brain Sciences epilepsy seizures dehydroepiandrosterone neuronal loss astroglial activation dendritic degeneration |
| title | Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic Epilepsy |
| title_full | Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic Epilepsy |
| title_fullStr | Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic Epilepsy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic Epilepsy |
| title_short | Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Astroglial Activation, Neuronal Loss and Dendritic Degeneration in Iron-Induced Post-Traumatic Epilepsy |
| title_sort | dehydroepiandrosterone attenuates astroglial activation neuronal loss and dendritic degeneration in iron induced post traumatic epilepsy |
| topic | epilepsy seizures dehydroepiandrosterone neuronal loss astroglial activation dendritic degeneration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/4/563 |
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