Astrocytes in the epileptic brain

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jonathon Wetherington, Emory University; Geidy Serrano, Emory University; Raymond Dingledine, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2008-04-24
• Publisher: Elsevier (Cell Press): 12 month embargo
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2008.04.002
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Neuron
• ISSN: 0896-6273
• Volume: 58
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 168
• End Page: 178
• Grant/Funding Information: Supported by the National Institutes of Health CounterACT Program through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (award #U01NS058158); and an American Epilepsy Foundation Fellowship (J.W.).
• Keywords: SIGNAL-REGULATED KINASE; Neurosciences; TEMPORAL-LOBE EPILEPSY; IN-SITU; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; SYNAPTIC-TRANSMISSION; NECROSIS-FACTOR-ALPHA; REACTIVE ASTROCYTES; GLIAL GLUTAMATE TRANSPORTERS; Neurosciences & Neurology; CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM; HUMAN EPILEPTOGENIC HIPPOCAMPUS; Science & Technology; CULTURED RAT ASTROCYTES
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Pharmacology; Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

The roles that astrocytes play in the evolution of abnormal network excitability in chronic neurological disorders involving brain injury, such as acquired epilepsy, are receiving renewed attention due to improved understanding of the molecular events underpinning the physiological functions of astrocytes. In epileptic tissue, evidence is pointing to enhanced chemical signaling and disrupted linkage between water and potassium balance by reactive astrocytes, which together conspire to enhance local synchrony in hippocampal microcircuits. Reactive astrocytes in epileptic tissue both promote and oppose seizure development through a variety of specific mechanisms; the new findings suggest several novel astrocyte-related targets for drug development.