Ketone bodies mediate antiseizure effects through mitochondrial permeability transition

Do Young Kim, Kristina A. Simeone, Timothy A. Simeone, Jignesh D. Pandya, Julianne C. Wilke, Younghee Ahn, James W. Geddes, Patrick G. Sullivan, Jong M. Rho

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

139 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective Ketone bodies (KB) are products of fatty acid oxidation and serve as essential fuels during fasting or treatment with the high-fat antiseizure ketogenic diet (KD). Despite growing evidence that KB exert broad neuroprotective effects, their role in seizure control has not been firmly demonstrated. The major goal of this study was to demonstrate the direct antiseizure effects of KB and to identify an underlying target mechanism. Methods We studied the effects of both the KD and KB in spontaneously epileptic Kcna1-null mice using a combination of behavioral, planar multielectrode, and standard cellular electrophysiological techniques. Thresholds for mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT) were determined in acutely isolated brain mitochondria. Results KB alone were sufficient to: (1) exert antiseizure effects in Kcna1-null mice, (2) restore intrinsic impairment of hippocampal long-term potentiation and spatial learning-memory defects in Kcna1-null mutants, and (3) raise the threshold for calcium-induced mPT in acutely prepared mitochondria from hippocampi of Kcna1-null animals. Targeted deletion of the cyclophilin D subunit of the mPT complex abrogated the effects of KB on mPT, and in vivo pharmacological inhibition and activation of mPT were found to mirror and reverse, respectively, the antiseizure effects of the KD in Kcna1-null mice. Interpretation The present data reveal the first direct link between mPT and seizure control, and provide a potential mechanistic explanation for the KD. Given that mPT is increasingly being implicated in diverse neurological disorders, our results suggest that metabolism-based treatments and/or metabolic substrates might represent a worthy paradigm for therapeutic development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)77-87
Number of pages11
JournalAnnals of Neurology
Volume78
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Neurological Association.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Ketone bodies mediate antiseizure effects through mitochondrial permeability transition'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this