Epileptogenesis in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K06751
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Nerve anatomy/Neuropathology
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: Kitaura Hiroki 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 助教 (80401769)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 柿田 明美 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 教授 (80281012)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: てんかん / 海馬 / 海馬硬化症 / Kir4.1 / アストロサイト / ヒト脳スライス標本 / 苔状線維 / 海馬支脚

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The majority of seizures originate primarily from the hippocampus in patient of Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). The resected hippocampal tissue often shows severe neuronal loss, a condition referred to as hippocampal sclerosis. Here we investigated epileptiform activities ex vivo using living hippocampal tissue taken from patients with MTLE. Flavoprotein fluorescence imaging and local field potential recordings revealed that epileptiform activities developed from the subiculum. Moreover, physiological and morphological experiments revealed possible impairment of K+ clearance in the subiculum affected by HS. Stimulation of mossy fibers induced recurrent trans-synaptic activity in the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus, suggesting that mossy fiber sprouting in HS also contributes to the epileptogenic mechanism. These results indicate that pathophysiological alterations involving the subiculum and dentate gyrus could be responsible for epileptogenesis in patients with MTLE.

Free Research Field

神経科学、神経病理学