Neuronal injury following electrically induced status epilepticus with and without adenosine receptor antagonism

Adenosine is thought to act as an endogenous anticonvulsant and neuroprotective substance in the brain. In the present study we compared neuronal death following status epilepticus (SE) induced in the presence of 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dimethylxanthine (8-CPT), an A1-adenosine receptor antagonist, with that following SE induced by continuous hippocampal stimulation. Hippocampal damage was characterized using selective nerve and nonnerve cell markers. Six days after SE, both models produced similar patterns of CA1 and CA3 cell loss and selective loss of parvalbumin and hilar somatostatin-immunoreactive interneurons. Calbindin D28K-immunoreactive interneuron numbers and calbindin D28K immunoreactivity in dentate granule cells remained unchanged although calbindin D28K staining was lost in damaged CA1 neurons. Neuronal injury in these areas was also accompanied by reactive gliosis and microglial proliferation, as well as the production of basic fibroblast growth factor and insulin-like growth factor-1 by astrocytes. Although hippocampal damage appeared to be more severe after SE induced in the presence of 8-CPT, this may be due to the increased severity of SE generated in this model.