Neuroinflammation leads to pharmacoresistance in temporal lobe epilepsy via promoting spermine degradation

• Published in: Acta pharmacologica Sinica
• Main Authors: Yan, Meng-qi, Qiu, Xiao-yun, Zhang, Shuo, Yu, Xue-min, Sun, Min-juan, Yang, Yuan-zhi, Gong, Yi-wei, Zou, Shuang, Li, Meng-han, Fei, Fan, Du, Yu, Wang, Yi, Tang, Ying-ying, Chen, Zhong, Xu, Ceng-lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 17.06.2025
• Subjects: spermine; temporal lobe epilepsy; sodium channel; lipopolysaccharide; neuroinflammation; pharmacoresistance
• ISSN: 1671-4083; 1745-7254; 1745-7254
• DOI: 10.1038/s41401-025-01594-8

Pharmacoresistance remains intractable in epilepsy, necessitating in-depth mechanism investigations. Cumulative data have pointed to active neuroinflammation in pharmacoresistant epilepsy, but the process between neuroinflammation and pharmacoresistance remains unknown. In this study we investigated how severe neuroinflammation altered anti-seizure drugs (ASMs) pharmacology. Hippocampal kindling or kainic acid-induced temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) models were established in mice that had received intra-hippocampal LPS injection. Acute hippocampal slices were prepared; current-clamp recording was made in hippocampal pyramidal neurons to assess the impact of ASMs on neuronal excitability and sodium channels. We showed that intra-hippocampal LPS injection resulted in higher inflammatory cytokine levels in the hippocampus. LPS induced-neuroinflammation significantly decreased the antiseizure efficacy of phenytoin (PHT), carbamazepine (CBZ) and rufinamide (RUF), all the ASMs tested were unable to alleviate the seizure severities. We observed the "off-target" phenomena of ASMs, i.e. ASMs' loss of ability to suppress the firing of action potentials and the amplitudes of sodium currents in hippocampal pyramidal neurons from LPS-treated mice. We demonstrated that LPS induced-neuroinflammation promoted the degradation of spermine, an essential polyamine linked with ASM performance on sodium channels, through upregulating the catabolic enzyme spermidine/spermine N(1)-acetyltransferase (SSAT). Intra-hippocampal injection of SSAT agonist DENSPM mimicked LPS-induced "off-target" phenomena of ASMs, whereas injection of SSAT antagonist diminazene aceturate into hippocampus reversed the "off-target" phenomenon of ASMs in LPS-treated mice. Finally, intrahippocampal injection of spermine restored the efficacy of ASMs on action potential firings and sodium currents, resulting in the reversal of pharmacoresistance in LPS-treated TLE models. These results provide new evidence that neuroinflammation causes pharmacoresistance in TLE via promoting spermine degradation, and highlight spermine supplementation as a promising therapy for pharmacoresistant TLE.