Length Polymorphism and Methylation Status of UPS29 Minisatellite of the ACAP3 Gene as Molecular Biomarker of Epilepsy. Sex Differences in Seizure Types and Symptoms

Complexity in Genetic Epilepsies: A Comprehensive Review

Epilepsy is a highly prevalent neurological disorder, affecting between 5-8 per 1000 individuals and is associated with a lifetime risk of up to 3%. In addition to high incidence, epilepsy is a highly heterogeneous disorder, with variation including, but not limited to the following: severity, age of onset, type of seizure, developmental delay, drug responsiveness, and other comorbidities. Variable phenotypes are reflected in a range of etiologies including genetic, infectious, metabolic, immune, acquired/structural (resulting from, for example, a severe head injury or stroke), or idiopathic. This review will focus specifically on epilepsies with a genetic cause, genetic testing, and biomarkers in epilepsy.

DNA Methylation Description of Hippocampus, Cortex, Amygdala, and Blood of Drug-Resistant Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation were observed in drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (DR-TLE), a disease that affects 25-30% of epilepsy patients. The main objective is to simultaneously describe DNA methylation patterns associated with DR-TLE in hippocampus, amygdala, surrounding cortex to the epileptogenic zone (SCEZ), and peripheral blood. An Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip array was performed in 19 DR-TLE patients and 10 postmortem non-epileptic controls. Overall, 32, 59, and 3210 differentially methylated probes (DMPs) were associated with DR-TLE in the hippocampus, amygdala, and SCEZ, respectively. These DMP-affected genes were involved in neurotrophic and calcium signaling in the hippocampus and voltage-gated channels in SCEZ, among others. One of the hippocampus DMPs (cg26834418 (CHORDC1)) showed a strong blood-brain correlation with BECon and IMAGE-CpG, suggesting that it could be a potential surrogate peripheral biomarker of DR-TLE. Moreover, in three of the top SCEZ's DMPs (SHANK3, SBF1, and MCF2L), methylation status was verified with methylation-specific qPCR. The differentially methylated CpGs were classified in DMRs: 2 in the hippocampus, 12 in the amygdala, and 531 in the SCEZ. We identified genes that had not been associated to DR-TLE so far such as TBX5, EXOC7, and WRHN. The area with more DMPs associated with DR-TLE was the SCEZ, some of them related to voltage-gated channels. The DMPs found in the amygdala were involved in inflammatory processes. We also found a potential surrogate peripheral biomarker of DR-TLE. Thus, these results provide new insights into epigenetic modifications involved in DR-TLE.

Bioinformatics and Next-Generation Data Analysis for Identification of Genes and Molecular Pathways Involved in Subjects with Diabetes and Obesity

Background and Objectives: A subject with diabetes and obesity is a class of the metabolic disorder. The current investigation aimed to elucidate the potential biomarker and prognostic targets in subjects with diabetes and obesity. Materials and Methods: The next-generation sequencing (NGS) data of GSE132831 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Functional enrichment analysis of DEGs was conducted with ToppGene. The protein-protein interactions network, module analysis, target gene-miRNA regulatory network and target gene-TF regulatory network were constructed and analyzed. Furthermore, hub genes were validated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. A total of 872 DEGs, including 439 up-regulated genes and 433 down-regulated genes were observed. Results: Second, functional enrichment analysis showed that these DEGs are mainly involved in the axon guidance, neutrophil degranulation, plasma membrane bounded cell projection organization and cell activation. The top ten hub genes (MYH9, FLNA, DCTN1, CLTC, ERBB2, TCF4, VIM, LRRK2, IFI16 and CAV1) could be utilized as potential diagnostic indicators for subjects with diabetes and obesity. The hub genes were validated in subjects with diabetes and obesity. Conclusion: This investigation found effective and reliable molecular biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis by integrated bioinformatics analysis, suggesting new and key therapeutic targets for subjects with diabetes and obesity.

Genistein protects epilepsy-induced brain injury through regulating the JAK2/STAT3 and Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathways in the developing rats

BACKGROUND

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disease. Recurrent seizures can cause irreversible brain damage. This study aimed to explore the regulation of Genistein on JAK2/STAT3 and Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway and the protective effects on brain injury after epilepsy.

METHODS

Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) was used to induce epilepsy in developing rats and Genistein was used for pretreatment of epilepsy. The seizure latency, grade scores and duration of the first generalized tonic-clonic seizure (GTCs) were recorded. Hippocampus tissue was sampled at 24 h post-epilepsy. Immunofluorescence staining was used to observe mature neurons, activated microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampal CA1 region. Western blot and qRT-PCR were used to determine the protein and mRNA levels of JAK2, STAT3, TNF-α, IL-1β, Keap1, Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1, caspase3, Bax and Bcl2 in the hippocampus.

RESULTS

Immunofluorescence showed that the number of neurons significantly decreased, and activated microglia and astrocytes significantly increased after epilepsy; Western blot and q-PCR showed that the expressions of JAK2, STAT3, TNF-α, IL-1β, Keap1, caspase3 and Bax significantly increased, while Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 and Bcl-2 were significantly reduced after epilepsy. These effects were reversed by Genistein treatment. Moreover, Genistein was found to prolong seizure latency and reduce seizure intensity score and duration of generalized tonic-clonic seizures(GTCs) CONCLUSIONS: Genistein can activate the Keap1/Nrf2 antioxidant stress pathway and attenuate the activation of microglia and astrocytes. Genistein also inhibits the JAK2-STAT3 inflammation pathway and expression of apoptotic proteins, and increases the number of surviving neurons, thus having a protective effect on epilepsy-induced brain damage.