HOP protein expression in the hippocampal dentate gyrus is acutely downregulated in a status epilepticus mouse model

Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency, and delayed management can lead to higher morbidity and mortality. It is thought that prolonged seizures stimulate stem cells in the hippocampus and that epileptogenesis may arise from aberrant connections formed by newly born cells, while others have suggested that the acute neuroinflammation and gliosis often seen in epileptic hippocampi contribute to hyperexcitability and epilepsy development. Previous studies have identified the expression of homeodomain-only protein (HOP) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (HDG) and the heart. HOP was found to be a regulator of cell proliferation and differentiation during heart development, while it maintains the ‘heart conduction system’ in adulthood. However, little is known about HOP function in the adult HDG, particularly in the SE setting. Here, a HOP immunohistochemical profile in an SE mouse model was established. A total of 24 adult mice were analyzed 3–10 days following the SE episode, the ‘acute phase’. Our findings demonstrate a significant downregulation of HOP and BLBP protein expression in the SE group following SE episodes, while HOP/Ki67 coexpression did not remarkably differ. Furthermore, coexpression of HOP/S100β and HOP/Prox1 was not observed, although we noticed insignificant HOP/DCX coexpression level. The findings of this study show no compelling evidence of proliferation, and newly added neurons were not identified during the acute phase following SE, although HOP protein expression was significantly decreased in the HDG. Similar to its counterpart in the adult heart, this suggests that HOP seems to play a key role in regulating signal conduction in adult hippocampus. Moreover, acute changes in HOP expression following SE could be part of an inflammatory response that could subsequently influence epileptogenicity. •Homeodomain-only protein (HOP) is exclusively expressed in adult hippocampal dentate gyrus.•In adult HDG, HOP-expressing cells could represent a unique terminally-differentiated, highly specialized glial subtype.•. A single episode of status epilepticus (SE) does not affect cell proliferation nor differentiation in adult HDG.•HOP protein is downregulated following SE and could influence epileptogenicity.•Similar to its function in adult heart, HOP seems to play critical role in regulating adult ‘hippocampus conduction system’.•HOP protein could represent a molecular target for acute management of SE to minimize its cumulative effects