Seizures are bursts of excessive synchronized neuronal activity, suggesting that mechanisms controlling brain excitability are compromised. The voltage-gated potassium channel Kv4.2, a major mediator of hyperpolarizing A-type currents in the brain, is a crucial regulator of neuronal excitability. Kv4.2 expression levels are reduced following seizures and in epilepsy, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report that Kv4.2 mRNA is recruited to the RNA-induced silencing complex shortly after status epilepticus in mice and after kainic acid treatment of hippocampal neurons, coincident with reduction of Kv4.2 protein. We show that the microRNA miR-324-5p inhibits Kv4.2 protein expression and that antagonizing miR-324-5p is neuroprotective and seizure suppressive. MiR-324-5p inhibition also blocks kainic-acid-induced reduction of Kv4.2 protein in vitro and in vivo and delays kainic-acid-induced seizure onset in wild-type but not in Kcnd2 knockout mice. These results reveal an important role for miR-324-5p-mediated silencing of Kv4.2 in seizure onset.

10.1016/j.celrep.2016.08.074

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Citations (79)

The potassium channel Kv4.2 regulates dendritic spine morphology, electroencephalographic characteristics and seizure susceptibility in mice

Experimental Neurology (2020)

Durgesh Tiwari Tori L. Schaefer Lindsay M. Schroeder-Carter Joseph C. Krzeski Alexander T. Bunk

Wild type

10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113437

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Citations (22)

Peripheral Amyloid Precursor Protein Derivative Expression in Fragile X Syndrome

Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience (2019)

Richard D. McLane Lauren Schmitt Ernest V. Pedapati Rebecca C. Shaffer Kelli C. Dominick

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited form of intellectual disability and is associated with increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), anxiety, ADHD, and epilepsy. While our understanding of FXS pathophysiology has improved, a lack of validated blood-based biomarkers of disease continues to impede bench-to-bedside efforts. To meet this demand, there is a growing effort to discover a reliable biomarker to inform treatment discovery and evaluate treatment target engagement. Such a marker, amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP), has shown potential dysregulation in the absence of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) and may therefore be associated with FXS pathophysiology. While APP is best understood in the context of Alzheimer disease, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting the molecule and its derivatives play a broader role in regulating neuronal hyperexcitability, a well-characterized phenotype in FXS. To evaluate the viability of APP as a peripheral biological marker in FXS, we conducted an exploratory ELISA-based evaluation of plasma APP-related species involving 27 persons with FXS (mean age: 22.0 ± 11.5) and 25 age- and sex-matched persons with neurotypical development (mean age: 21.1 ± 10.7). Peripheral levels of both Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42) were increased, while sAPPα was significantly decreased in persons with FXS as compared to control participants. These results suggest that dysregulated APP processing, with potential preferential β-secretase processing, may be a readily accessible marker of FXS pathophysiology.

Fragile X Syndrome

Neurotypical

Pathophysiology

10.3389/fnint.2019.00049

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Regulation of Ion Channels by MicroRNAs and the Implication for Epilepsy

Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports (2018)

Christina Groß Durgesh Tiwari

10.1007/s11910-018-0870-2

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Dysregulated Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor-Dependent Translation of AMPA Receptor and Postsynaptic Density-95 mRNAs at Synapses in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome

Journal of Neuroscience (2007)

Ravi S. Muddashetty Sofija Kelič Christina Groß Mei Xu Gary J. Bassell

Fragile X syndrome, a common form of inherited mental retardation, is caused by the loss of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an mRNA binding protein that is hypothesized to regulate local mRNA translation in dendrites downstream of gp1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). However, specific FMRP-associated mRNAs that localize to dendrites in vivo and show altered mGluR-dependent translation at synapses of Fmr1 knock-out mice are unknown so far. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we discovered that GluR1/2 and postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) mRNAs are localized to dendrites of cortical and hippocampal neurons in vivo . Quantitative analyses of their dendritic mRNA levels in cultured neurons and synaptoneurosomes did not detect differences between wild-type and Fmr1 knock-out (KO) mice. In contrast, PSD-95, GluR1/2, and calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) mRNA levels in actively translating polyribosomes were dysregulated in synaptoneurosomes from Fmr1 knock-out mice in response to mGluR activation. [ 35 S]methionine incorporation into newly synthesized proteins similarly revealed impaired stimulus-induced protein synthesis of CaMKIIα and PSD-95 in synaptoneurosomes from Fmr1 KO mice. Quantitative analysis of mRNA levels in FMRP-specific immunoprecipitations from synaptoneurosomes demonstrated the association of FMRP with CaMKIIα, PSD-95, and GluR1/2 mRNAs. These findings suggest a novel mechanism whereby FMRP regulates the local synthesis AMPA receptor (AMPAR) subunits, PSD-95, and CaMKIIα downstream of mGluR-activation. Dysregulation of local translation of AMPAR and associated factors at synapses may impair control of the molecular composition of the postsynaptic density and consequently alter synaptic transmission, causing impairments of neuronal plasticity observed in Fmr1 knock-out mice and fragile X syndrome.

FMR1

Postsynaptic density

Fragile X Syndrome

10.1523/jneurosci.0937-07.2007

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Citations (412)

Lost Inhibition – Brain Activity Temporarily Out of Control

Epiliepsy currents/Epilepsy currents (2018)

Christina Groß

10.5698/1535-7597.18.1.53

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Citations (4)