Involvement of TRPV4 in changes in rapidly inactivating potassium channels in the early stage of pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus in mice

The rapidly inactivating potassium current (IA) is important in controlling neuronal action potentials. Altered IA function and K+ channel expression have been found in epilepsy, and activation of the transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel is involved in epilepsy pathogenesis. This study examined whether TRPV4 affects Kv4.2 and K+ channel interacting protein (KCHIP) expression and IA changes following pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus (PISE) in mice. Herein, hippocampal protein levels of Kv4.2 and KCHIP2 increased 3 h–3 d and decreased 7–30 d; that of KCHIP1 increased 3–24 h and decreased 3–30 d post‐PISE. The TRPV4 antagonist HC‐067047 attenuated the increased protein levels of Kv4.2 and KCHIP2 but not that of KCHIP1 post‐PISE. The TRPV4 agonist GSK1016790A increased hippocampal protein levels of Kv4.2 and KCHIP2 but had no effect on KCHIP1 expression. HC‐067047 attenuated the increased IA in hippocampal pyramidal neurons 24 h and 3 d post‐PISE. GSK1016790A increased IA in hippocampal pyramidal neurons, shifting the voltage‐dependent inactivation curve toward depolarization. The GSK1016790A‐induced increase of IA was blocked by protein kinase A and calcium/calmodulin‐dependent kinase II antagonists but was unaffected by protein kinase C antagonists. We conclude that TRPV4 activation may be responsible for the increases of Kv4.2 and KCHIP2 expression in hippocampi and IA in hippocampal pyramidal neurons in PISE mice, which are likely compensatory measures for hyperexcitability at the early stage of epilepsy.