Interestingly, in both male and female mice, mGluR5 function persists in the astrocyte throughout the process of epileptogenesis following status epilepticus.
It is possible that mGluR5 may play a negative role in initiation of status epilepticus by interacting with muscarinic acetylcholine receptor in mGluR5+/+ mice.
Thus, we conclude that the reduction of mGluR LTD after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus is the result of the subtype-specific downregulation of mGluR5 and associated downstream signaling components.