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Carron R, Roncon P, Lagarde S, Dibué M, Zanello M, Bartolomei F. Latest Views on the Mechanisms of Action of Surgically Implanted Cervical Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Epilepsy. Neuromodulation 2022; 26:498-506. [PMID: 36064522 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurom.2022.08.447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is approved as an adjunctive treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy. Although there is a substantial amount of literature aiming at unraveling the mechanisms of action of VNS in epilepsy, it is still unclear how the cascade of events triggered by VNS leads to its antiepileptic effect. OBJECTIVE In this review, we integrated available peer-reviewed data on the effects of VNS in clinical and experimental research to identify those that are putatively responsible for its therapeutic effect. The topic of transcutaneous VNS will not be covered owing to the current lack of data supporting the differences and commonalities of its mechanisms of action in relation to invasive VNS. SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS There is compelling evidence that the effect is obtained through the stimulation of large-diameter afferent myelinated fibers that project to the solitary tract nucleus, then to the parabrachial nucleus, which in turn alters the activity of the limbic system, thalamus, and cortex. VNS-induced catecholamine release from the locus coeruleus in the brainstem plays a pivotal role. Functional imaging studies tend to point toward a common vagal network that comes into play, made up of the amygdalo-hippocampal regions, left thalamus, and insular cortex. CONCLUSIONS Even though some crucial pieces are missing, neurochemical, molecular, cellular, and electrophysiological changes occur within the vagal afferent network at three main levels (the brainstem, the limbic system [amygdala and hippocampus], and the cortex). At this final level, VNS notably alters functional connectivity, which is known to be abnormally high within the epileptic zone and was shown to be significantly decreased by VNS in responders. The effect of crucial VNS parameters such as frequency or current amplitude on functional connectivity metrics is of utmost importance and requires further investigation.
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Noris A, Roncon P, Peraio S, Zicca A, Lenge M, Di Rita A, Genitori L, Giordano F. Complete section of the left vagus nerve does not preclude the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation: illustrative case. Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons 2021; 2:CASE21128. [PMID: 35854913 PMCID: PMC9265221 DOI: 10.3171/case21128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) represents a valid therapeutic option for patients with medically intractable seizures who are not candidates for epilepsy surgery. Even when complete section of the nerve occurs, stimulation applied cranially to the involved nerve segment does not preclude the efficacy of VNS. Complete vagus nerve section with neuroma causing definitive left vocal cord palsy has never been previously reported in the literature. OBSERVATIONS Eight years after VNS implant, the patient experienced worsening of seizures; the interrogation of the generator revealed high impedance requiring surgical revision. On surgical exploration, complete left vagus nerve section and a neuroma were found. Vocal cord atrophy was found at immediate postoperative laryngeal inspection as a confirmation of a longstanding lesion. Both of these events might have been caused by direct nerve injury during VNS surgery, and they presented in a delayed fashion. LESSONS VNS surgery may be complicated by direct damage to the left vagus nerve, resulting in permanent neurological deficits. A complete section of the nerve also enables an efficacious stimulation if applied cranially to the involved segment. Laryngeal examination should be routinely performed before each VNS surgery to rule out preexisting vocal cord dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Noris
- Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurosciences, and
| | - Paolo Roncon
- Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit, Meyer Children’s Hospital, Florence, Italy; and
| | | | - Anna Zicca
- Medical Affairs Department, Sorin Group Italia, LivaNova PLC-Owned Subsidiary, Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Lenge
- Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurosciences, and
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3
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Lovisari F, Roncon P, Soukoupova M, Paolone G, Labasque M, Ingusci S, Falcicchia C, Marino P, Johnson M, Rossetti T, Petretto E, Leclercq K, Kaminski RM, Moyon B, Webster Z, Simonato M, Zucchini S. Implication of sestrin3 in epilepsy and its comorbidities. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcaa130. [PMID: 33758823 PMCID: PMC7966953 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcaa130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Epilepsy is a serious neurological disorder affecting about 1% of the population worldwide. Epilepsy may arise as a result of acquired brain injury, or as a consequence of genetic predisposition. To date, genome-wide association studies and exome sequencing approaches have provided limited insights into the mechanisms of acquired brain injury. We have previously reported a pro-epileptic gene network, which is conserved across species, encoding inflammatory processes and positively regulated by sestrin3 (SESN3). In this study, we investigated the phenotype of SESN3 knock-out rats in terms of susceptibility to seizures and observed a significant delay in status epilepticus onset in SESN3 knock-out compared to control rats. This finding confirms previous in vitro and in vivo evidence indicating that SESN3 may favour occurrence and/or severity of seizures. We also analysed the phenotype of SESN3 knock-out rats for common comorbidities of epilepsy, i.e., anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment. SESN3 knock-out rats proved less anxious compared to control rats in a selection of behavioural tests. Taken together, the present results suggest that SESN3 may regulate mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy and its comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Lovisari
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Paolo Roncon
- Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Marie Soukoupova
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanna Paolone
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marilyne Labasque
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Selene Ingusci
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Chiara Falcicchia
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Pietro Marino
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | | | | | - Enrico Petretto
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.,MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMC), Imperial College London, UK
| | - Karine Leclercq
- Neuroscience TA, UCB Biopharma SPRL, Braine l'Alleud, Belgium
| | | | - Ben Moyon
- Es Cell and Transgenics, Medical Research Council, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Zoe Webster
- Es Cell and Transgenics, Medical Research Council, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Michele Simonato
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy.,Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Zucchini
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Italy
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4
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van Vliet EA, Puhakka N, Mills JD, Srivastava PK, Johnson MR, Roncon P, Das Gupta S, Karttunen J, Simonato M, Lukasiuk K, Gorter JA, Aronica E, Pitkänen A. Standardization procedure for plasma biomarker analysis in rat models of epileptogenesis: Focus on circulating microRNAs. Epilepsia 2017; 58:2013-2024. [PMID: 28960286 DOI: 10.1111/epi.13915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The World Health Organization estimates that globally 2.4 million people are diagnosed with epilepsy each year. In nearly 30% of these cases, epilepsy cannot be properly controlled by antiepileptic drugs. More importantly, treatments to prevent or modify epileptogenesis do not exist. Therefore, novel therapies are urgently needed. In this respect, it is important to identify which patients will develop epilepsy and which individually tailored treatment is needed. However, currently, we have no tools to identify the patients at risk, and diagnosis of epileptogenesis remains as a major unmet medical need, which relates to lack of diagnostic biomarkers for epileptogenesis. As the epileptogenic process in humans is typically slow, the use of animal models is justified to speed up biomarker discovery. We aim to summarize recommendations for molecular biomarker research and propose a standardized procedure for biomarker discovery in rat models of epileptogenesis. The potential of many phylogenetically conserved circulating noncoding small RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), as biomarkers has been explored in various brain diseases, including epilepsy. Recent studies show the feasibility of detecting miRNAs in blood in both experimental models and human epilepsy. However, the analysis of circulating miRNAs in rodent models is challenging, which relates both to the lack of standardized sampling protocols and to analysis of miRNAs. We will discuss the issues critical for preclinical plasma biomarker discovery, such as documentation, blood and brain tissue sampling and collection, plasma separation and storage, RNA extraction, quality control, and RNA detection. We propose a protocol for standardization of procedures for discovery of circulating miRNA biomarkers in rat models of epileptogenesis. Ultimately, we hope that the preclinical standardization will facilitate clinical biomarker discovery for epileptogenesis in man.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwin A van Vliet
- Department of (Neuro)Pathology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Noora Puhakka
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - James D Mills
- Department of (Neuro)Pathology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Prashant K Srivastava
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael R Johnson
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paolo Roncon
- Division of Neuroscience, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Shalini Das Gupta
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Jenni Karttunen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Michele Simonato
- Division of Neuroscience, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.,University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Katarzyna Lukasiuk
- Laboratory of Epileptogenesis, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jan A Gorter
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eleonora Aronica
- Department of (Neuro)Pathology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Asla Pitkänen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
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5
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Lapinlampi N, Melin E, Aronica E, Bankstahl JP, Becker A, Bernard C, Gorter JA, Gröhn O, Lipsanen A, Lukasiuk K, Löscher W, Paananen J, Ravizza T, Roncon P, Simonato M, Vezzani A, Kokaia M, Pitkänen A. Common data elements and data management: Remedy to cure underpowered preclinical studies. Epilepsy Res 2017; 129:87-90. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2016.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2016] [Accepted: 11/19/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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6
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Roncon P, Zucchini S, Ferracin M, Marucci G, Giulioni M, Michelucci R, Rubboli G, Simonato M. Is autopsy tissue a valid control for epilepsy surgery tissue in microRNA studies? Epilepsia Open 2016; 2:90-95. [PMID: 29750217 PMCID: PMC5939384 DOI: 10.1002/epi4.12023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are differentially expressed in the brain under pathologic conditions and may therefore represent both therapeutic targets and diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for neurologic diseases, including epilepsy. In fact, miRNA expression profiles have been investigated in the hippocampi of patients with epilepsy in comparison with control, nonepileptic cases. Unfortunately, the interpretation of these data is difficult because surgically resected epileptic tissue is generally compared with control tissue obtained from autopsies. To challenge the validity of this approach, we performed an miRNA microarray on the laser microdissected granule cell layer of the human hippocampus obtained from surgical samples of patients with epilepsy, autoptic nonepileptic controls, and patients with autoptic epilepsy, using the latter as internal control. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to collect autopsy material from documented epilepsy individuals who died of non–epilepsy‐related causes—we found only two such cases. However, hierarchical clustering of all samples showed that those obtained from autopsies of patients with epilepsy segregated with the other autoptic samples (controls) and not with the bioptic tissues from the surgery patients, suggesting that the origin of the tissue (surgery or autopsy) may be prevalent over the underlying pathology (epilepsy or not epilepsy). Even taking into account the limitations due to the small number of cases, this observation arises concerns on the use of autopsy tissue as control for this kind of studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Roncon
- Department of Medical Sciences Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center University of Ferrara Ferrara Italy
| | - Silvia Zucchini
- Department of Medical Sciences Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center University of Ferrara Ferrara Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience Ferrara Italy.,Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA) University of Ferrara Ferrara Italy
| | - Manuela Ferracin
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES) University of Bologna Bologna Italy
| | - Gianluca Marucci
- Section of Pathology "M. Malpighi" Bellaria Hospital Azienda USL - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences Bologna Italy
| | - Marco Giulioni
- Section of Neurosurgery IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences Bellaria Hospital Bologna Italy
| | - Roberto Michelucci
- Section of Neurology IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences Bellaria Hospital Bologna Italy
| | - Guido Rubboli
- Section of Neurology IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences Bellaria Hospital Bologna Italy.,Danish Epilepsy Center Filadelfia/University of Copenhagen Dianalund Denmark
| | - Michele Simonato
- Department of Medical Sciences Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center University of Ferrara Ferrara Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience Ferrara Italy.,Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA) University of Ferrara Ferrara Italy
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7
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Falcicchia C, Trempat P, Binaschi A, Perrier-Biollay C, Roncon P, Soukupova M, Berthommé H, Simonato M. Silencing Status Epilepticus-Induced BDNF Expression with Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Based Amplicon Vectors. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0150995. [PMID: 26954758 PMCID: PMC4783051 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2015] [Accepted: 02/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been found to produce pro- but also anti-epileptic effects. Thus, its validity as a therapeutic target must be verified using advanced tools designed to block or to enhance its signal. The aim of this study was to develop tools to silence the BDNF signal. We generated Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) derived amplicon vectors, i.e. viral particles containing a genome of 152 kb constituted of concatameric repetitions of an expression cassette, enabling the expression of the gene of interest in multiple copies. HSV-1 based amplicon vectors are non-pathogenic and have been successfully employed in the past for gene delivery into the brain of living animals. Therefore, amplicon vectors should represent a logical choice for expressing a silencing cassette, which, in multiple copies, is expected to lead to an efficient knock-down of the target gene expression. Here, we employed two amplicon-based BDNF silencing strategies. The first, antisense, has been chosen to target and degrade the cytoplasmic mRNA pool of BDNF, whereas the second, based on the convergent transcription technology, has been chosen to repress transcription at the BDNF gene. Both these amplicon vectors proved to be effective in down-regulating BDNF expression in vitro, in BDNF-expressing mesoangioblast cells. However, only the antisense strategy was effective in vivo, after inoculation in the hippocampus in a model of status epilepticus in which BDNF mRNA levels are strongly increased. Interestingly, the knocking down of BDNF levels induced with BDNF-antisense was sufficient to produce significant behavioral effects, in spite of the fact that it was produced only in a part of a single hippocampus. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a reliable effect of amplicon vectors in knocking down gene expression in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, this approach may find broad applications in neurobiological studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Falcicchia
- Department of Medical Science, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Ferrara, Italy
- Bioviron, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Pascal Trempat
- Department of Medical Science, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Ferrara, Italy
- Bioviron, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Anna Binaschi
- Department of Medical Science, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Ferrara, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Roncon
- Department of Medical Science, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marie Soukupova
- Department of Medical Science, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Hervé Berthommé
- Bioviron, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Michele Simonato
- Department of Medical Science, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Ferrara, Italy
- Laboratory of Technologies for Advanced Therapy (LTTA), Technopole of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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8
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Roncon P, Soukupovà M, Binaschi A, Falcicchia C, Zucchini S, Ferracin M, Langley SR, Petretto E, Johnson MR, Marucci G, Michelucci R, Rubboli G, Simonato M. MicroRNA profiles in hippocampal granule cells and plasma of rats with pilocarpine-induced epilepsy--comparison with human epileptic samples. Sci Rep 2015; 5:14143. [PMID: 26382856 PMCID: PMC4585664 DOI: 10.1038/srep14143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2015] [Accepted: 08/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The identification of biomarkers of the transformation of normal to epileptic tissue would help to stratify patients at risk of epilepsy following brain injury, and inform new treatment strategies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an attractive option in this direction. In this study, miRNA microarrays were performed on laser-microdissected hippocampal granule cell layer (GCL) and on plasma, at different time points in the development of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy in the rat: latency, first spontaneous seizure and chronic epileptic phase. Sixty-three miRNAs were differentially expressed in the GCL when considering all time points. Three main clusters were identified that separated the control and chronic phase groups from the latency group and from the first spontaneous seizure group. MiRNAs from rats in the chronic phase were compared to those obtained from the laser-microdissected GCL of epileptic patients, identifying several miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-23a-5p, miR-146a-5p and miR-181c-5p) that were up-regulated in both human and rat epileptic tissue. Analysis of plasma samples revealed different levels between control and pilocarpine-treated animals for 27 miRNAs. Two main clusters were identified that segregated controls from all other groups. Those miRNAs that are altered in plasma before the first spontaneous seizure, like miR-9a-3p, may be proposed as putative biomarkers of epileptogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Roncon
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marie Soukupovà
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Anna Binaschi
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Chiara Falcicchia
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Silvia Zucchini
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy.,Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Manuela Ferracin
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, Italy.,Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pathology, Oncology and Experimental Biology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Sarah R Langley
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Charing Cross Hospital,UK
| | - Enrico Petretto
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, UK
| | - Michael R Johnson
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Charing Cross Hospital,UK
| | - Gianluca Marucci
- Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DiBiNeM), Section of Pathology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy
| | - Roberto Michelucci
- IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Section of Neurology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy
| | - Guido Rubboli
- IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Section of Neurology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy.,Danish Epilepsy Center, Filadelfia/University of Copenhagen, Dianalund, Denmark
| | - Michele Simonato
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy.,Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, Italy
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9
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Soukupova M, Binaschi A, Falcicchia C, Palma E, Roncon P, Zucchini S, Simonato M. Increased extracellular levels of glutamate in the hippocampus of chronically epileptic rats. Neuroscience 2015; 301:246-53. [PMID: 26073699 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Revised: 06/05/2015] [Accepted: 06/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
An increase in the release of excitatory amino acids has consistently been observed in the hippocampus during seizures, both in humans and animals. However, very little or nothing is known about the extracellular levels of glutamate and aspartate during epileptogenesis and in the interictal chronic period of established epilepsy. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the relationship between seizure activity and changes in hippocampal glutamate and aspartate extracellular levels under basal and high K(+)-evoked conditions, at various time-points in the natural history of experimental temporal lobe epilepsy, using in vivo microdialysis. Hippocampal extracellular glutamate and aspartate levels were evaluated: 24h after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE); during the latency period preceding spontaneous seizures; immediately after the first spontaneous seizure; in the chronic (epileptic) period. We found that (i) basal (spontaneous) glutamate outflow is increased in the interictal phases of the chronic period, whereas basal aspartate outflow remains stable for the entire course of the disease; (ii) high K(+) perfusion increased glutamate and aspartate outflow in both control and pilocarpine-treated animals, and the overflow of glutamate was clearly increased in the chronic group. Our data suggest that the glutamatergic signaling is preserved and even potentiated in the hippocampus of epileptic rats, and thus may favor the occurrence of spontaneous recurrent seizures. Together with an impairment of GABA signaling (Soukupova et al., 2014), these data suggest that a shift toward excitation occurs in the excitation/inhibition balance in the chronic epileptic state.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Soukupova
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - A Binaschi
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - C Falcicchia
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - E Palma
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Roma "Sapienza", Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, Roma, Italy; IRCCS San Raffaele, Via della Pisana 235, Roma, Italy.
| | - P Roncon
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - S Zucchini
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, Ferrara, Italy; Laboratory of Technologies for Advanced Therapy (LTTA), Technopole of Ferrara, Via Ludovico Ariosto 35, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - M Simonato
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara and National Institute of Neuroscience, Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, Ferrara, Italy; Laboratory of Technologies for Advanced Therapy (LTTA), Technopole of Ferrara, Via Ludovico Ariosto 35, Ferrara, Italy.
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10
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Johnson MR, Behmoaras J, Bottolo L, Krishnan ML, Pernhorst K, Santoscoy PLM, Rossetti T, Speed D, Srivastava PK, Chadeau-Hyam M, Hajji N, Dabrowska A, Rotival M, Razzaghi B, Kovac S, Wanisch K, Grillo FW, Slaviero A, Langley SR, Shkura K, Roncon P, De T, Mattheisen M, Niehusmann P, O'Brien TJ, Petrovski S, von Lehe M, Hoffmann P, Eriksson J, Coffey AJ, Cichon S, Walker M, Simonato M, Danis B, Mazzuferi M, Foerch P, Schoch S, De Paola V, Kaminski RM, Cunliffe VT, Becker AJ, Petretto E. Systems genetics identifies Sestrin 3 as a regulator of a proconvulsant gene network in human epileptic hippocampus. Nat Commun 2015; 6:6031. [PMID: 25615886 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2014] [Accepted: 12/04/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene-regulatory network analysis is a powerful approach to elucidate the molecular processes and pathways underlying complex disease. Here we employ systems genetics approaches to characterize the genetic regulation of pathophysiological pathways in human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Using surgically acquired hippocampi from 129 TLE patients, we identify a gene-regulatory network genetically associated with epilepsy that contains a specialized, highly expressed transcriptional module encoding proconvulsive cytokines and Toll-like receptor signalling genes. RNA sequencing analysis in a mouse model of TLE using 100 epileptic and 100 control hippocampi shows the proconvulsive module is preserved across-species, specific to the epileptic hippocampus and upregulated in chronic epilepsy. In the TLE patients, we map the trans-acting genetic control of this proconvulsive module to Sestrin 3 (SESN3), and demonstrate that SESN3 positively regulates the module in macrophages, microglia and neurons. Morpholino-mediated Sesn3 knockdown in zebrafish confirms the regulation of the transcriptional module, and attenuates chemically induced behavioural seizures in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Johnson
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Burlington Danes Building, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Jacques Behmoaras
- Centre for Complement and Inflammation Research, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Leonardo Bottolo
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, 180 Queen's Gate, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Michelle L Krishnan
- Centre for the Developing Brain, Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, St Thomas' Hospital, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK
| | - Katharina Pernhorst
- Section of Translational Epileptology, Department of Neuropathology, University of Bonn, Sigmund Freud Street 25, Bonn D-53127, Germany
| | - Paola L Meza Santoscoy
- Department of Biomedical Science, Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Tiziana Rossetti
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Doug Speed
- UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Prashant K Srivastava
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Burlington Danes Building, London W12 0NN, UK.,Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Marc Chadeau-Hyam
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, MRC/PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, Norfolk Place, W21PG London, UK
| | - Nabil Hajji
- Department of Medicine, Centre for Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Aleksandra Dabrowska
- Department of Medicine, Centre for Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Maxime Rotival
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Banafsheh Razzaghi
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Stjepana Kovac
- Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Klaus Wanisch
- Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Federico W Grillo
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Anna Slaviero
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Sarah R Langley
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Burlington Danes Building, London W12 0NN, UK.,Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Kirill Shkura
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Burlington Danes Building, London W12 0NN, UK.,Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Paolo Roncon
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Tisham De
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Manuel Mattheisen
- Department of Genomics, Life and Brain Center, University of Bonn, D-53127 Bonn, Germany.,Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, D-53127 Bonn, Germany.,Institute for Genomic Mathematics, University of Bonn, D-53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Pitt Niehusmann
- Section of Translational Epileptology, Department of Neuropathology, University of Bonn, Sigmund Freud Street 25, Bonn D-53127, Germany
| | - Terence J O'Brien
- Department of Medicine, RMH, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Slave Petrovski
- Department of Neurology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Marec von Lehe
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Bonn Medical Center, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany
| | - Per Hoffmann
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany.,Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Johan Eriksson
- Folkhälsan Research Centre, Topeliusgatan 20, 00250 Helsinki, Finland.,Helsinki University Central Hospital, Unit of General Practice, Haartmaninkatu 4, Helsinki 00290, Finland.,Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, 407, PO Box 20, Tukholmankatu 8 B, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Alison J Coffey
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Sven Cichon
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany.,Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Matthew Walker
- Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Michele Simonato
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.,Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Bénédicte Danis
- Neuroscience TA, UCB Biopharma SPRL, Avenue de l'industrie, R9, B-1420 Braine l'Alleud, Belgium
| | - Manuela Mazzuferi
- Neuroscience TA, UCB Biopharma SPRL, Avenue de l'industrie, R9, B-1420 Braine l'Alleud, Belgium
| | - Patrik Foerch
- Neuroscience TA, UCB Biopharma SPRL, Avenue de l'industrie, R9, B-1420 Braine l'Alleud, Belgium
| | - Susanne Schoch
- Section of Translational Epileptology, Department of Neuropathology, University of Bonn, Sigmund Freud Street 25, Bonn D-53127, Germany.,Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn Medical Center, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, Bonn D-53127, Germany
| | - Vincenzo De Paola
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Rafal M Kaminski
- Neuroscience TA, UCB Biopharma SPRL, Avenue de l'industrie, R9, B-1420 Braine l'Alleud, Belgium
| | - Vincent T Cunliffe
- Department of Biomedical Science, Bateson Centre, University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Albert J Becker
- Section of Translational Epileptology, Department of Neuropathology, University of Bonn, Sigmund Freud Street 25, Bonn D-53127, Germany
| | - Enrico Petretto
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore
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11
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Zucchini S, Marucci G, Paradiso B, Lanza G, Roncon P, Cifelli P, Ferracin M, Giulioni M, Michelucci R, Rubboli G, Simonato M. Identification of miRNAs differentially expressed in human epilepsy with or without granule cell pathology. PLoS One 2014; 9:e105521. [PMID: 25148080 PMCID: PMC4141756 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2014] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The microRNAs (miRNAs) are small size non-coding RNAs that regulate expression of target mRNAs at post-transcriptional level. miRNAs differentially expressed under pathological conditions may help identifying mechanisms underlying the disease and may represent biomarkers with prognostic value. However, this kind of studies are difficult in the brain because of the cellular heterogeneity of the tissue and of the limited access to fresh tissue. Here, we focused on a pathology affecting specific cells in a subpopulation of epileptic brains (hippocampal granule cells), an approach that bypasses the above problems. All patients underwent surgery for intractable temporal lobe epilepsy and had hippocampal sclerosis associated with no granule cell pathology in half of the cases and with type-2 granule cell pathology (granule cell layer dispersion or bilamination) in the other half. The expression of more than 1000 miRNAs was examined in the laser-microdissected dentate granule cell layer. Twelve miRNAs were differentially expressed in the two groups. One of these, miR487a, was confirmed to be expressed at highly differential levels in an extended cohort of patients, using RT-qPCR. Bioinformatics searches and RT-qPCR verification identified ANTXR1 as a possible target of miR487a. ANTXR1 may be directly implicated in granule cell dispersion because it is an adhesion molecule that favors cell spreading. Thus, miR487a could be the first identified element of a miRNA signature that may be useful for prognostic evaluation of post-surgical epilepsy and may drive mechanistic studies leading to the identification of therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Zucchini
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- National Institute of Neuroscience, Torino, Italy
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Gianluca Marucci
- Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DiBiNeM), Section of Pathology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy
| | - Beatrice Paradiso
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- National Institute of Neuroscience, Torino, Italy
- Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pathology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanni Lanza
- Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pathology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Paolo Roncon
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- National Institute of Neuroscience, Torino, Italy
| | - Pierangelo Cifelli
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- Ri.MED Foundation, Palermo, Italy
| | - Manuela Ferracin
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pathology, Oncology and Experimental Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Giulioni
- IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Section of Neurosurgery, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy
| | - Roberto Michelucci
- IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Section of Neurology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy
| | - Guido Rubboli
- IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Section of Neurology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy
- Danish Epilepsy Center, Epilepsihospital, Dianalund, Denmark
| | - Michele Simonato
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- National Institute of Neuroscience, Torino, Italy
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA), University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- * E-mail:
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12
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Soukupová M, Binaschi A, Falcicchia C, Zucchini S, Roncon P, Palma E, Magri E, Grandi E, Simonato M. Impairment of GABA release in the hippocampus at the time of the first spontaneous seizure in the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Exp Neurol 2014; 257:39-49. [PMID: 24768627 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2014.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2014] [Revised: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The alterations in GABA release have not yet been systematically measured along the natural course of temporal lobe epilepsy. In this work, we analyzed GABA extracellular concentrations (using in vivo microdialysis under basal and high K(+)-evoked conditions) and loss of two GABA interneuron populations (parvalbumin and somatostatin neurons) in the ventral hippocampus at different time-points after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in the rat, i.e. during development and progression of epilepsy. We found that (i) during the latent period between the epileptogenic insult, status epilepticus, and the first spontaneous seizure, basal GABA outflow was reduced to about one third of control values while the number of parvalbumin-positive cells was reduced by about 50% and that of somatostatin-positive cells by about 25%; nonetheless, high K(+) stimulation increased extracellular GABA in a proportionally greater manner during latency than under control conditions; (ii) at the time of the first spontaneous seizure (i.e., when the diagnosis of epilepsy is made in humans) this increased responsiveness to stimulation disappeared, i.e. there was no longer any compensation for GABA cell loss; (iii) thereafter, this dysfunction remained constant until a late phase of the disease. These data suggest that a GABAergic hyper-responsiveness can compensate for GABA cell loss and protect from occurrence of seizures during latency, whereas impaired extracellular GABA levels can favor the occurrence of spontaneous recurrent seizures and the maintenance of an epileptic state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Soukupová
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy.
| | - Anna Binaschi
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy
| | - Chiara Falcicchia
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy
| | - Silvia Zucchini
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy; Laboratory of Technologies for Advanced Therapy (LTTA), Technopole of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Paolo Roncon
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy
| | - Eleonora Palma
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology University of Roma "Sapienza", Italy; IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Roma, Italy
| | - Eros Magri
- Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pathology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Enrico Grandi
- Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pathology, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Michele Simonato
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Center, University of Ferrara, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Italy; Laboratory of Technologies for Advanced Therapy (LTTA), Technopole of Ferrara, Italy
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