Elucidation of the pathology of early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage focusing on epilepsy

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K17963
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 56010:Neurosurgery-related
• Research Institution: Mie University
• Principal Investigator: Kawakita Fumihiro 三重大学, 医学部附属病院, 医員 (90608952)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: くも膜下出血 / てんかん / 早期脳損傷 / 神経細胞アポトーシス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Recently, nonconvulsive seizures have become known as a poor prognostic factor for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) after cerebral aneurysmal rupture. In basic research, brain damage peculiar to SAH, called early brain injury, is considered important as a poor prognostic factor. We recently reported that one of the matricellular proteins, tenascin-C (TNC), was highly expressed in the brain after SAH and caused neuronal apoptosis. Neuronal apoptosis is thought to be important both in early brain injury after SAH and in the acquisition of epileptogenicity. In this study, thus we clarified the relationships among neuronal apoptosis, TNC upregulation, and non-convulsive seizures using SAH model mice.

Free Research Field

脳血管障害

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究はマトリセルラー蛋白の１つであるテネイシンCがてんかん原性獲得において重要な役割を果たす可能性を初めて示した。テネイシンCは病的状態でその発現は誘導され、受容体やサイトカイン、他の細胞外マトリックス蛋白などと反応し、細胞間や、細胞と細胞外マトリックス間の様々な機能を調整することから近年、注目されてきた。テネイシンCを介する新しいてんかん誘発性細胞死のシグナル経路を解明した本研究の成果は、薬剤抵抗性の側頭葉てんかんなど、他原因のてんかん研究にも応用できる可能性があり、てんかん原性獲得やてんかん誘発性細胞死を未然に防ぐ新しい治療法の開発へと発展していく可能性がある。