Inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin reduces epileptogenesis and blood-brain barrier leakage but not microglia activation.

Purpose: Previous studies have shown that inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway with rapamycin prevents epileptogenesis after pharmacologically induced status epilepticus (SE) in rat models of temporal lobe epilepsy. Because rapamycin is also known for its immunosuppressant properties we hypothesized that one of the mechanisms by which it exerts this effect could be via suppression of brain inflammation, a process that has been suggested to play a major role in the development and progression of epilepsy.

Methods: Rats were treated with rapamycin or vehicle once daily for 7 days (6 mg/kg/day, i.