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McMoneagle E, Zhou J, Zhang S, Huang W, Josiah SS, Ding K, Wang Y, Zhang J. Neuronal K +-Cl - cotransporter KCC2 as a promising drug target for epilepsy treatment. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2024; 45:1-22. [PMID: 37704745 PMCID: PMC10770335 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-023-01149-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Epilepsy is a prevalent neurological disorder characterized by unprovoked seizures. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) serves as the primary fast inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and GABA binding to the GABAA receptor (GABAAR) regulates Cl- and bicarbonate (HCO3-) influx or efflux through the channel pore, leading to GABAergic inhibition or excitation, respectively. The neuron-specific K+-Cl- cotransporter 2 (KCC2) is essential for maintaining a low intracellular Cl- concentration, ensuring GABAAR-mediated inhibition. Impaired KCC2 function results in GABAergic excitation associated with epileptic activity. Loss-of-function mutations and altered expression of KCC2 lead to elevated [Cl-]i and compromised synaptic inhibition, contributing to epilepsy pathogenesis in human patients. KCC2 antagonism studies demonstrate the necessity of limiting neuronal hyperexcitability within the brain, as reduced KCC2 functioning leads to seizure activity. Strategies focusing on direct (enhancing KCC2 activation) and indirect KCC2 modulation (altering KCC2 phosphorylation and transcription) have proven effective in attenuating seizure severity and exhibiting anti-convulsant properties. These findings highlight KCC2 as a promising therapeutic target for treating epilepsy. Recent advances in understanding KCC2 regulatory mechanisms, particularly via signaling pathways such as WNK, PKC, BDNF, and its receptor TrkB, have led to the discovery of novel small molecules that modulate KCC2. Inhibiting WNK kinase or utilizing newly discovered KCC2 agonists has demonstrated KCC2 activation and seizure attenuation in animal models. This review discusses the role of KCC2 in epilepsy and evaluates its potential as a drug target for epilepsy treatment by exploring various strategies to regulate KCC2 activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin McMoneagle
- Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Streatham Campus, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Jin Zhou
- Department of Neurology, Institutes of Brain Science, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institute of Biological Science, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Shiyao Zhang
- Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiang'an Nan Lu, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Weixue Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Research Center of Chemical Kinomics, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Sunday Solomon Josiah
- Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Streatham Campus, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Ke Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Research Center of Chemical Kinomics, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Yun Wang
- Department of Neurology, Institutes of Brain Science, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institute of Biological Science, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Jinwei Zhang
- Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Streatham Campus, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK.
- Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiang'an Nan Lu, Xiamen, 361102, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Research Center of Chemical Kinomics, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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Cheung DL, Toda T, Narushima M, Eto K, Takayama C, Ooba T, Wake H, Moorhouse AJ, Nabekura J. KCC2 downregulation after sciatic nerve injury enhances motor function recovery. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7871. [PMID: 37188694 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34701-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Injury to mature neurons induces downregulated KCC2 expression and activity, resulting in elevated intracellular [Cl-] and depolarized GABAergic signaling. This phenotype mirrors immature neurons wherein GABA-evoked depolarizations facilitate neuronal circuit maturation. Thus, injury-induced KCC2 downregulation is broadly speculated to similarly facilitate neuronal circuit repair. We test this hypothesis in spinal cord motoneurons injured by sciatic nerve crush, using transgenic (CaMKII-KCC2) mice wherein conditional CaMKIIα promoter-KCC2 expression coupling selectively prevents injury-induced KCC2 downregulation. We demonstrate, via an accelerating rotarod assay, impaired motor function recovery in CaMKII-KCC2 mice relative to wild-type mice. Across both cohorts, we observe similar motoneuron survival and re-innervation rates, but differing post-injury reorganization patterns of synaptic input to motoneuron somas-for wild-type, both VGLUT1-positive (excitatory) and GAD67-positive (inhibitory) terminal counts decrease; for CaMKII-KCC2, only VGLUT1-positive terminal counts decrease. Finally, we recapitulate the impaired motor function recovery of CaMKII-KCC2 mice in wild-type mice by administering local spinal cord injections of bicuculline (GABAA receptor blockade) or bumetanide (lowers intracellular [Cl-] by NKCC1 blockade) during the early post-injury period. Thus, our results provide direct evidence that injury-induced KCC2 downregulation enhances motor function recovery and suggest an underlying mechanism of depolarizing GABAergic signaling driving adaptive reconfiguration of presynaptic GABAergic input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Lawrence Cheung
- Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
| | - Takuya Toda
- Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
| | - Madoka Narushima
- Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
| | - Kei Eto
- Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- Department of Physiology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Tatsuko Ooba
- Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Wake
- Division of Multicellular Circuit Dynamics, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Andrew John Moorhouse
- School of Biomedical Sciences, UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Junichi Nabekura
- Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
- Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
- School of Life Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
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Jarvis R, Josephine Ng SF, Nathanson AJ, Cardarelli RA, Abiraman K, Wade F, Evans-Strong A, Fernandez-Campa MP, Deeb TZ, Smalley JL, Jamier T, Gurrell IK, McWilliams L, Kawatkar A, Conway LC, Wang Q, Burli RW, Brandon NJ, Chessell IP, Goldman AJ, Maguire JL, Moss SJ. Direct activation of KCC2 arrests benzodiazepine refractory status epilepticus and limits the subsequent neuronal injury in mice. Cell Rep Med 2023; 4:100957. [PMID: 36889319 PMCID: PMC10040380 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Hyperpolarizing GABAAR currents, the unitary events that underlie synaptic inhibition, are dependent upon efficient Cl- extrusion, a process that is facilitated by the neuronal specific K+/Cl- co-transporter KCC2. Its activity is also a determinant of the anticonvulsant efficacy of the canonical GABAAR-positive allosteric: benzodiazepines (BDZs). Compromised KCC2 activity is implicated in the pathophysiology of status epilepticus (SE), a medical emergency that rapidly becomes refractory to BDZ (BDZ-RSE). Here, we have identified small molecules that directly bind to and activate KCC2, which leads to reduced neuronal Cl- accumulation and excitability. KCC2 activation does not induce any overt effects on behavior but prevents the development of and terminates ongoing BDZ-RSE. In addition, KCC2 activation reduces neuronal cell death following BDZ-RSE. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that KCC2 activation is a promising strategy to terminate BDZ-resistant seizures and limit the associated neuronal injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Jarvis
- Discovery, Neuroscience, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Shu Fun Josephine Ng
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Anna J Nathanson
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Ross A Cardarelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Krithika Abiraman
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Fergus Wade
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Aidan Evans-Strong
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Marina P Fernandez-Campa
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Tarek Z Deeb
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Joshua L Smalley
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Tanguy Jamier
- Discovery, Neuroscience, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ian K Gurrell
- Discovery, Neuroscience, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Lisa McWilliams
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Aarti Kawatkar
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Leslie C Conway
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Qi Wang
- Discovery, Neuroscience, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roland W Burli
- Discovery, Neuroscience, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nicholas J Brandon
- Discovery, Neuroscience, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Iain P Chessell
- Discovery, Neuroscience, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Aaron J Goldman
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jamie L Maguire
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Stephen J Moss
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1 6BT, UK.
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Dossi E, Huberfeld G. GABAergic circuits drive focal seizures. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 180:106102. [PMID: 36977455 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Epilepsy is based on abnormal neuronal activities that have historically been suggested to arise from an excess of excitation and a defect of inhibition, or in other words from an excessive glutamatergic drive not balanced by GABAergic activity. More recent data however indicate that GABAergic signaling is not defective at focal seizure onset and may even be actively involved in seizure generation by providing excitatory inputs. Recordings of interneurons revealed that they are active at seizure initiation and that their selective and time-controlled activation using optogenetics triggers seizures in a more general context of increased excitability. Moreover, GABAergic signaling appears to be mandatory at seizure onset in many models. The main pro-ictogenic effect of GABAergic signaling is the depolarizing action of GABAA conductance which may occur when an excessive GABAergic activity causes Cl- accumulation in neurons. This process may combine with background dysregulation of Cl-, well described in epileptic tissues. Cl- equilibrium is maintained by (Na+)/K+/Cl- co-transporters, which can be defective and therefore favor the depolarizing effects of GABA. In addition, these co-transporters further contribute to this effect as they mediate K+ outflow together with Cl- extrusion, a process that is responsible for K+ accumulation in the extracellular space and subsequent increase of local excitability. The role of GABAergic signaling in focal seizure generation is obvious but its complex dynamics and balance between GABAA flux polarity and local excitability still remain to be established, especially in epileptic tissues where receptors and ion regulators are disrupted and in which GABAergic signaling rather plays a 2 faces Janus role.
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Proskurina EY, Zaitsev AV. Regulation of Potassium and Chloride Concentrations in Nervous Tissue as a Method of Anticonvulsant Therapy. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093022050015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Under some pathological conditions, such as pharmacoresistant
epilepsy, status epilepticus or certain forms of genetic abnormalities,
spiking activity of GABAergic interneurons may enhance excitation
processes in neuronal circuits and provoke the generation of ictal
discharges. As a result, anticonvulsants acting on the GABAergic
system may be ineffective or even increase seizure activity. This
paradoxical effect of the inhibitory system is due to ionic imbalances
in nervous tissue. This review addresses the mechanisms of ictal
discharge initiation in neuronal networks due to the imbalance of
chloride and potassium ions, as well as possible ways to regulate
ionic concentrations. Both the enhancement (or attenuation) of the
activity of certain neuronal ion transporters and ion pumps and
their additional expression via gene therapy can be effective in
suppressing seizure activity caused by ionic imbalances. The Na+–K+-pump,
NKCC1 and KCC2 cotransporters are important for maintaining proper
K+ and Cl– concentrations
in nervous tissue, having been repeatedly considered as pharmacological
targets for antiepileptic exposures. Further progress in this direction
is hampered by the lack of sufficiently selective pharmacological
tools and methods for providing effective drug delivery to the epileptic
focus. The use of the gene therapy techniques, such as overexpressing
of the KCC2 transporter in the epileptic focus, seems to be a more promising
approach. Another possible direction could be the use of optogenetic
tools, namely specially designed light-activated ion pumps or ion
channels. In this case, photon energy can be used to create the
required gradients of chloride and potassium ions, although these
methods also have significant limitations which complicate their
rapid introduction into medicine.
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Molecular Mechanisms of Epilepsy: The Role of the Chloride Transporter KCC2. J Mol Neurosci 2022; 72:1500-1515. [PMID: 35819636 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-022-02041-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Epilepsy is a neurological disease characterized by abnormal or synchronous brain activity causing seizures, which may produce convulsions, minor physical signs, or a combination of symptoms. These disorders affect approximately 65 million people worldwide, from all ages and genders. Seizures apart, epileptic patients present a high risk to develop neuropsychological comorbidities such as cognitive deficits, emotional disturbance, and psychiatric disorders, which severely impair quality of life. Currently, the treatment for epilepsy includes the administration of drugs or surgery, but about 30% of the patients treated with antiepileptic drugs develop time-dependent pharmacoresistence. Therefore, further investigation about epilepsy and its causes is needed to find new pharmacological targets and innovative therapeutic strategies. Pharmacoresistance is associated to changes in neuronal plasticity and alterations of GABAA receptor-mediated neurotransmission. The downregulation of GABA inhibitory activity may arise from a positive shift in GABAA receptor reversal potential, due to an alteration in chloride homeostasis. In this paper, we review the contribution of K+-Cl--cotransporter (KCC2) to the alterations in the Cl- gradient observed in epileptic condition, and how these alterations are coupled to the increase in the excitability.
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