EPO and EPO-Receptor System as Potential Actionable Mechanism for the Protection of Brain and Heart in Refractory Epilepsy and SUDEP

The most important activity of erythropoietin (EPO) is the regulation of erythrocyte production by activation of the erythropoietin receptor (EPO-R), which triggers the activation of anti-apoptotic and proliferative responses of erythroid progenitor cells. Additionally, to erythropoietic EPO activity, an antiapoptotic effect has been described in a wide spectrum of tissues. EPO low levels are found in the central nervous system (CNS), while EPO-R is expressed in most CNS cell types. In spite of EPO-R high levels expressed during the hypoxicischemic brain, insufficient production of endogenous cerebral EPO could be the cause of determined circuit alterations that lead to the loss of specific neuronal populations. In the heart, high EPO-R expression in cardiac progenitor cells appears to contribute to myocardial regeneration under EPO stimulation. Several lines of evidence have linked EPO to an antiapoptotic role in CNS and in heart tissue. In this review, an antiapoptotic role of EPO/EPO-R system in both brain and heart under hypoxic conditions, such as epilepsy and sudden death (SUDEP) has been resumed. Additionally, their protective effects could be a new field of research and a novel therapeutic strategy for the early treatment of these conditions and avoid SUDEP.