Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders globally. Current treatments mainly target neuronal activity, often overlooking the involvement of astrocytes and microglia in epilepsy’s pathophysiology. Here, we explored the impact of purinergic receptors, predominantly found in glial t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nelson Espinosa, Soraya Martín-Suárez, Ariel Lara-Vasquez, Trinidad Montero, Teresa Muro-García, German Fernandez, Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez, Pablo Fuentealba
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1513135/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850154797134512128
author Nelson Espinosa
Soraya Martín-Suárez
Ariel Lara-Vasquez
Trinidad Montero
Teresa Muro-García
German Fernandez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Pablo Fuentealba
author_facet Nelson Espinosa
Soraya Martín-Suárez
Ariel Lara-Vasquez
Trinidad Montero
Teresa Muro-García
German Fernandez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Pablo Fuentealba
author_sort Nelson Espinosa
collection DOAJ
description Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders globally. Current treatments mainly target neuronal activity, often overlooking the involvement of astrocytes and microglia in epilepsy’s pathophysiology. Here, we explored the impact of purinergic receptors, predominantly found in glial tissue, on epileptiform activity. We used TNP-ATP, a potent purinergic receptor antagonist, and conducted experiments using a mouse model of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy to examine behavioral performance and neural activity patterns. Our findings reveal that although TNP-ATP treatment did not significantly impact motor function or anxiety levels, it reduced both the amplitude and rate of hippocampal interictal discharges. Such reduction also affected the synchrony of associated neuronal spiking. Additionally, cognitive function, particularly hippocampus-dependent spatial memory and prefrontal cortex-dependent executive control, were partially restored. Moreover, neuronal recordings showed increased phase coherence between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex for both slow (theta) and fast (gamma) oscillations in treated animals, indicating strengthened neural coordination between cortical regions upon purinergic receptor antagonism. These results underscore the potential role of purinergic receptor antagonists in improving behavioral and cognitive performance in epilepsy, providing novel insight into the use of these pharmacological agents as a therapeutic approach.
format Article
id doaj-art-250f10ac6d9e402dbe3f58e62db27bba
institution OA Journals
issn 1662-453X
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-250f10ac6d9e402dbe3f58e62db27bba2025-08-20T02:25:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2025-04-011910.3389/fnins.2025.15131351513135Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsyNelson Espinosa0Soraya Martín-Suárez1Ariel Lara-Vasquez2Trinidad Montero3Teresa Muro-García4German Fernandez5Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez6Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez7Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez8Pablo Fuentealba9Departamento de Psiquiatria, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, ChileAchucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Bizkaia, SpainDepartamento de Psiquiatria, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, ChileDepartamento de Psiquiatria, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, ChileAchucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Bizkaia, SpainDepartamento de Psiquiatria, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, ChileAchucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Bizkaia, SpainIKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Bizkaia, SpainDepartment of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Bizkaia, SpainDepartamento de Psiquiatria, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, ChileEpilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders globally. Current treatments mainly target neuronal activity, often overlooking the involvement of astrocytes and microglia in epilepsy’s pathophysiology. Here, we explored the impact of purinergic receptors, predominantly found in glial tissue, on epileptiform activity. We used TNP-ATP, a potent purinergic receptor antagonist, and conducted experiments using a mouse model of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy to examine behavioral performance and neural activity patterns. Our findings reveal that although TNP-ATP treatment did not significantly impact motor function or anxiety levels, it reduced both the amplitude and rate of hippocampal interictal discharges. Such reduction also affected the synchrony of associated neuronal spiking. Additionally, cognitive function, particularly hippocampus-dependent spatial memory and prefrontal cortex-dependent executive control, were partially restored. Moreover, neuronal recordings showed increased phase coherence between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex for both slow (theta) and fast (gamma) oscillations in treated animals, indicating strengthened neural coordination between cortical regions upon purinergic receptor antagonism. These results underscore the potential role of purinergic receptor antagonists in improving behavioral and cognitive performance in epilepsy, providing novel insight into the use of these pharmacological agents as a therapeutic approach.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1513135/fullpurinergic receptortemporal lobe epilepsyinterictal dischargescognitive dysfunctioncortical oscillation
spellingShingle Nelson Espinosa
Soraya Martín-Suárez
Ariel Lara-Vasquez
Trinidad Montero
Teresa Muro-García
German Fernandez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Juan Manuel Encinas-Pérez
Pablo Fuentealba
Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
Frontiers in Neuroscience
purinergic receptor
temporal lobe epilepsy
interictal discharges
cognitive dysfunction
cortical oscillation
title Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
title_full Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
title_fullStr Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
title_full_unstemmed Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
title_short Purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
title_sort purinergic receptor antagonism reduces interictal discharges and rescues cognitive function in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
topic purinergic receptor
temporal lobe epilepsy
interictal discharges
cognitive dysfunction
cortical oscillation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1513135/full
work_keys_str_mv AT nelsonespinosa purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT sorayamartinsuarez purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT ariellaravasquez purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT trinidadmontero purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT teresamurogarcia purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT germanfernandez purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT juanmanuelencinasperez purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT juanmanuelencinasperez purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT juanmanuelencinasperez purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy
AT pablofuentealba purinergicreceptorantagonismreducesinterictaldischargesandrescuescognitivefunctioninamousemodeloftemporallobeepilepsy