AUTHOR=Sandow Nora , Kim Simon , Raue Claudia , Päsler Dennis , Klaft Zin-Juan , Antonio Leandro Leite , Hollnagel Jan Oliver , Kovacs Richard , Kann Oliver , Horn Peter , Vajkoczy Peter , Holtkamp Martin , Meencke Heinz-Joachim , Cavalheiro Esper A. , Pragst Fritz , Gabriel Siegrun , Lehmann Thomas-Nicolas , Heinemann Uwe TITLE=Drug Resistance in Cortical and Hippocampal Slices from Resected Tissue of Epilepsy Patients: No Significant Impact of P-Glycoprotein and Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=6 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2015.00030 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2015.00030 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=

Drug resistant patients undergoing epilepsy surgery have a good chance to become sensitive to anticonvulsant medication, suggesting that the resected brain tissue is responsible for drug resistance. Here, we address the question whether P-glycoprotein (Pgp) and multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs) expressed in the resected tissue contribute to drug resistance in vitro. Effects of anti-epileptic drugs [carbamazepine (CBZ), sodium valproate, phenytoin] and two unspecific inhibitors of Pgp and MRPs [verapamil (VPM) and probenecid (PBN)] on seizure-like events (SLEs) induced in slices from 35 hippocampal and 35 temporal cortex specimens of altogether 51 patients (161 slices) were studied. Although in slice preparations the blood brain barrier is not functional, we found that SLEs predominantly persisted in the presence of anticonvulsant drugs (90%) and also in the presence of VPM and PBN (86%). Following subsequent co-administration of anti-epileptic drugs and drug transport inhibitors, SLEs continued in 63% of 143 slices. Drug sensitivity in slices was recognized either as transition to recurrent epileptiform transients (30%) or as suppression (7%), particularly by perfusion with CBZ in PBN containing solutions (43, 9%). Summarizing responses to co-administration from more than one slice per patient revealed that suppression of seizure-like activity in all slices was only observed in 7% of patients. Patients whose tissue was completely or partially sensitive (65%) presented with higher seizure frequencies than those with resistant tissue (35%). However, corresponding subgroups of patients do not differ with respect to expression rates of drug transporters. Our results imply that parenchymal MRPs and Pgp are not responsible for drug resistance in resected tissue.