Ferrostatin-1 obviates seizures and associated cognitive deficits in ferric chloride-induced posttraumatic epilepsy via suppressing ferroptosis

Posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) is a prevalent complication of brain trauma. Current anti-epileptic drugs available do not have satisfactory response to PTE. It is of desperate need to explore novel therapeutic approaches for curing PTE. Our prior work revealed that ferroptosis, a recently discovered mode of cell death, occurs in rodent model of PTE. In the present study, we aimed to further investigate the effect of ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1), a specific ferroptosis inhibitor, on seizure behavior and cognitive deficit in a mouse model of PTE. The preparation of PTE was performed by stereotaxical injection in the somatosensory cortex region of 50 mM FeCl3. Seizure activity was assessed via Racine scoring and electroencephalogram analysis. PTE-related cognitive function was evaluated by novel object recognition and Morris water maze tests. Ferroptosis-related indices including glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and protein expressions of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) were detected using a commercial kit and immunofluorescence, respectively. It was found that treatment with Fer-1 significantly exerted protective effects against acute seizure and memory decline, although no evident effect on epileptic progression. Fer-1 also exhibited good tolerability and safety as we observed that it hardly influenced the body weight. Furthermore, it was noted that administration of Fer-1 suppressed ferroptosis-related indices including GPx activity and protein expressions of 4-HNE in hippocampus. These data altogether indicate that Fer-1 has potent therapeutic effects against seizures and cognitive impairment following PTE-induced brain insult. Fer-1 may act as a promising drug for curing PTE patients.