Functional up‐regulation of the M‐current by retigabine contrasts hyperexcitability and excitotoxicity on rat hypoglossal motoneurons
Authors: Ghezzi Filippo , Monni Laura , Nistri Andrea 
Published: May 2018

Key points

Excessive neuronal excitability characterizes several neuropathological conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Hypoglossal motoneurons (HMs), which control tongue muscles, are extremely vulnerable to this disease and undergo damage and death when exposed to an excessive glutamate extracellular concentration that causes excitotoxicity.

Our laboratory devised an in vitro model of excitotoxicity obtained by pharmacological blockade of glutamate transporters. In this paradigm, HMs display hyperexcitability, collective bursting and eventually cell death.

The results of the present study show that pharmacological up‐regulation of a K+ current (M‐current), via application of the anti‐convulsant retigabine, prevented all hallmarks of HM excitotoxicity, comprising bursting, generation of reactive oxygen species, expression of toxic markers and cell death.

Our data may have translational value to develop new treatments against neurological diseases by using positive pharmacological modulators of the M‐current.

Neuronal hyperexcitability is a symptom characterizing several neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the ALS bulbar form, hypoglossal motoneurons (HMs) are an early target for neurodegeneration because of their high vulnerability to metabolic insults. In recent years, our laboratory has developed an in vitro model of a brainstem slice comprising the hypoglossal nucleus in which HM neurodegeneration is achieved by blocking glutamate clearance with dl‐threo‐β‐benzyloxyaspartate (TBOA), thus leading to delayed excitotoxicity. During this process, HMs display a set of hallmarks such as hyperexcitability (and network bursting), reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and, finally, cell death. The present study aimed to investigate whether blocking early hyperexcitability and bursting with the anti‐convulsant drug retigabine was sufficient to achieve neuroprotection against excitotoxicity. Retigabine is a selective positive allosteric modulator of the M‐current (IM), an endogenous mechanism that neurons (comprising HMs) express to dampen excitability. Retigabine (10 μm; co‐applied with TBOA) contrasted ROS generation, release of endogenous toxic factors into the HM cytoplasm and excitotoxicity‐induced HM death. Electrophysiological experiments showed that retigabine readily contrasted and arrested bursting evoked by TBOA administration. Because neuronal IM subunits (Kv7.2, Kv7.3 and Kv7.5) were expressed in the hypoglossal nucleus and in functionally connected medullary nuclei, we suggest that they were responsible for the strong reduction in network excitability, a potent phenomenon for achieving neuroprotection against TBOA‐induced excitotoxicity. The results of the present study may have translational value for testing novel positive pharmacological modulators of the IM under pathological conditions (including neurodegenerative disorders) characterized by excessive neuronal excitability.