Astrocytes could be a new target that could better treat epilepsy

A large number of patients with epilepsy do not respond to currently available drugs. Collaboration between researchers in Japan and at Heinrich Heine Düsseldorf University (HHU) now addressed a type of brain cell that has hitherto received little attention in the treatment of epilepsy. In the current edition of the Journal of Neuroscience, they report that astrocytes could be a new target that could better treat this disease.

During epileptic seizures, a large number of nerve cells in the brain burn excessively and in synchronization. This depression can lead to uncontrolled shaking of the body and lead to periods of loss of consciousness. While about two-thirds of patients are on anti-epileptic medication, the rest are undergoing medical treatment and appearing anti-drug. These patients desperately need new therapeutic strategies.

Along with colleagues in Japan, Drs. Dr. Christine Rose and doctoral student Jan Meyer from the Institute of Neurobiology at HHU have conducted a study to address the cellular mechanisms that stimulate the development of epilepsy. Until now, most studies and anti-epileptic drugs focused on zero cells (neurons), this research team focused on a class of glial cells called astrocytes.

Glial cells make up about half of the cells in the brain. There are different types of glial cells, which perform different functions. Astrocytes control the local environment and are responsible for ion balance in the brain, but they also play an important role in signal transmission between neurons.

In their recent paper, the researchers show that epileptic seizures lead to an increase in the pH of astrocytes, that is in their intracellular ‘alkalization’. The change in pH disrupts the communication within the intercellular astrocyte networks. This reduced communication between astrocytes appears to induce epileptic activity of neurons.

This finding identifies a potential new target for early elimination of epileptogenesis, namely the use of drugs to induce changes in astrocytic pH that are accompanied by neuronal activity. to suppress.

The researchers were able to test this option by showing that animals that received such drugs did not suffer as much from epileptic hyperexcitability than untreated animals.

This view is very interesting. But it remains to be seen whether it can be passed on to humans or not. And it will take a long time before any drug is actually developed and used in the clinics. “

Prof. Dr. Christine Rose, Institute of Neurobiology, HHU

The research was conducted as a collaboration between the HHU and three universities in Japan (Keio University and Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Tokyo, Tohoku University in Sendai) as part of the “Young Glia” program of the DFG-Priority Program SPP 1757 “Neuroglia Action Specialists” coordinated by Dr. Rose. This program promotes collaboration between German and Japanese laboratories. In particular, it encourages and assists young scientists in the realization of their own bi-national research projects. For example, HHU doctoral student Jan Meyer traveled to Japan, while Mariko Onodera from Tohoku University spent two periods working at the Institute of Neurobiology in Düsseldorf.