Dynamics of microRNA expression during early onset epileptogenesis
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Purpose: Seizures and epilepsy have been associated with altered microRNA (miRNA/miR) profile in the brain. Epilepsy frequently starts in early childhood when brain is immature and neuronal networks are not fully functional. Since changes in miRNA expression might influence pathways essential for brain development, deciphering miRNA dynamics of early onset epilepsies might provide insight into mechanism underlying seizure related alterations in the developing brain. The aim of this study was to identify changes in miRNA profile during the epileptogenesis triggered by status epilepticus (SE) in infant rats (P12). Method: Rats were exposed to LiCl/pilocarpine induced SE at postnatal (P) day 12 (n=10). Controls (n=10) were treated the same way except they received saline instead of pilocarpine. Hippocampal tissues were collected at three timepoints: 24 hours (acute), 7days (latent) and 3 months (chronic stage) after SE. Total RNA was isolated and small RNA sequencing was used to address miRNA profiles in all tissue specimens. Results: Sequencing analysis showed that all analyzed stages of epileptogenesis had unique hippocampal miRNA profiles. Majority of miRNAs had altered expression only at specific timepoint,whilst expression levels of miR-155-5p; -22-3p and -24-3p was elevated in both acute and chronic stage and miR-21-5p and 24-2-5p was upregulated in animals after SE in all stages. Conclusion: Epilepsy development in the immature brain leads to changes in miRNA profile that might severely impact the gene expression. The effect of seizures on the brain development might be triggered by elevated expression of miRNAs specific for acute and chronic epilepsy stages characterized by seizures and epileptic comorbidities. |
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