Article
Neurosciences
Lise Heylen, Duc-Hung Pham, Ann-Sofie De Meulemeester, Eric Samarut, Adrianna Skiba, Danielle Copmans, Youcef Kazwiny, Pieter Vanden Berghe, Peter A. M. de Witte, Aleksandra Siekierska
Summary: Zebrafish present a novel model for epilepsy research, offering unique insights for studying epileptogenic processes in vivo and suitable for high-throughput AED screening and rapid genetic investigations.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Shinichi Kinoshita, Ryuta Koyama
Summary: Microglia in the epileptic brain exhibit different activation phenotypes, but their exact roles remain unclear.
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anna Volnova, Vassiliy Tsytsarev, Olga Ganina, Grace E. Velez-Crespo, Janaina M. Alves, Alla Ignashchenkova, Mikhail Inyushin
Summary: Gap junctions between astrocytes play a crucial role in regulating epileptic seizures by controlling the synchronization of pathological neuronal activity. Blocking these intercellular channels could be an important mechanism in suppressing epileptic activity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jing Liu, Kathryn A. Salvati, Scott C. Baraban
Summary: STXBP1 mutations are linked to various neurological disorders, and abnormal neural network activity under this mutation could play a key role in epileptic network formation. Using a zebrafish model combined with calcium imaging and electrophysiology recordings helps uncover this process.
Article
Neurosciences
Yifan Zhang, Lise Heylen, Michele Partoens, James D. Mills, Rafal M. Kaminski, Patrice Godard, Michel Gillard, Peter A. M. de Witte, Aleksandra Siekierska
Summary: In this study, a sv2a knockout model was established in zebrafish, and it was found that sv2a deficiency led to increased seizure vulnerability and played an important role in the synaptic vesicle cycle and epilepsy pathophysiology. Additionally, the use of connectivity mapping identified compounds that could rescue the epileptic phenotype.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Sayed Mostafa Modarres Mousavi, Fatemeh Alipour, Farshid Noorbakhsh, Maryam Jafarian, Masoud Ghadipasha, Jaber Gharehdaghi, Christoph Kellinghaus, Erwin-Josef Speckmann, Walter Stummer, Maryam Khaleghi Ghadiri, Ali Gorji
Summary: Widespread alterations in gene expression may contribute to epilepsy pathogenesis. We evaluated the expression levels of various genes in the epileptic hippocampus and amygdala, compared to autopsy controls, and assessed the correlation between molecular alterations and clinical characteristics in patients undergoing epilepsy surgery. Significant and complex changes in key regulatory genes were found in both the hippocampus and amygdala of patients with intractable epilepsy. The expression changes varied between the two regions and different correlation patterns were observed depending on patient grouping.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Kanandra Taisa Bertoncello, Carla Denise Bonan
Summary: Epilepsy affects about 65 million people worldwide and can lead to cognitive, psychological, behavioral, and social consequences. Despite the availability of numerous antiepileptic drugs, a significant proportion of patients do not respond satisfactorily to treatment, highlighting the importance of researching new therapeutic alternatives. This includes exploring plant-derived bioactive compounds with anticonvulsant properties and utilizing animal models like zebrafish for drug screening to advance epilepsy research.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Simone Kastropil Benassi, Julieta Goncalves Silva Macedo Alves, Cristiane Gorgatti Guidoreni, Cristina Goncalves Massant, Claudio M. Queiroz, Emilio Garrido-Sanabria, Rafael Duarte de Souza Loduca, Maria Alice Susemihl, Wellingson Silva Paiva, Almir Ferreira de Andrade, Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira, Joaquina Queiroz Andrade, Eliana Garzon, Maira Licia Foresti, Luiz E. Mello
Summary: The mechanisms by which brain injuries lead to epilepsy are not fully understood, and effective preventive measures are lacking. Animal studies have shown that drugs like anticholinergic agents may modify the course of post-traumatic epilepsy, with promising results seen in scopolamine and biperiden. Biperiden has been shown to decrease seizure incidence and intensity, making it a potential candidate for further investigation as an antiepileptogenic agent. Safety assessments in TBI patients have confirmed the safety of biperiden, and now a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial is underway to evaluate its efficacy in preventing epilepsy development.
SEIZURE-EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPILEPSY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laura Palumbo, Marianna Carinci, Annunziata Guarino, Laila Asth, Silvia Zucchini, Sonia Missiroli, Alessandro Rimessi, Paolo Pinton, Carlotta Giorgi
Summary: Neuroinflammation is a defense mechanism in the central nervous system against harmful stimuli, but dysregulation of this process is associated with CNS disorders. It has been shown that neuroinflammation is linked to epilepsy, specifically the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and epileptic seizures. This review provides an overview of the role of NLRP3-dependent inflammation in epilepsy and proposes potential therapeutic strategies.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Katarzyna Lukasiuk, Wladyslaw Lason
Summary: The pharmacological treatment of epilepsy is only aimed at relieving symptoms. Despite years of research, a causal treatment for this common neurological disorder is still unavailable. Advances in neuroscience and molecular biology tools, as well as improved animal models, may accelerate the development of antiepileptogenic and epilepsy-modifying drugs. Epileptogenesis triggers various changes in the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome, leading to the transformation of neuronal circuits and the occurrence of seizures.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pawan Kumar, Deepak Sheokand, Annu Grewal, Vandana Saini, Ajit Kumar
Summary: This study used a drug repositioning strategy to identify potential anti-epileptic drugs by evaluating the clinical side effect similarities of drugs in a database. Paroxetine showed better binding affinities to target receptors and has potential as a candidate for epilepsy treatment.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Ioana-Andreea Chis, Vlad Andrei, Alexandrina Muntean, Marioara Moldovan, Anca Stefania Mesaros, Mircea Cristian Dudescu, Aranka Ilea
Summary: Saliva is a useful biofluid for evaluating health and diagnosing diseases through biomarker analysis. It has been proposed as a novel, fast, low-cost, and non-invasive approach for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). This study aims to explore the correlation between AED levels in blood, urine, and oral fluid, and to highlight the applicability of saliva sampling for epileptic patients.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Roberto Rodriguez-Ortiz, Ataulfo Matinez-Torres
Summary: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder affecting 50 million people worldwide, with zebrafish used to model the disease. Mutations in the activated HCN channel were generated and phenotypic characteristics related to epilepsy were observed.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Vincent Strehlow, Claudine Rieubland, Sabina Gallati, Sukhan Kim, Scott J. Myers, Vincent Peterson, Amy J. Ramsey, Daniel D. Teuscher, Stephen F. Traynelis, Johannes R. Lemke
Summary: This study reports the case of an 8-year-old girl with severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathy caused by compound heterozygous null variants in GRIN2A. The functional investigations suggest a loss-of-function effect, and this is the first description of an autosomal recessive, biallelic type of GRIN2A-related disorder. Additionally, the study highlights that biallelic knockout of either GluN1 or GluN2A is associated with more severe phenotypes.
Review
Clinical Neurology
Yousif Hufthy, Mahima Bharadwaj, Shubhi Gupta, Delwar Hussain, Prince Josiah Sajanthan Joseph, Alizah Khan, Jessica King, Pieter Lahorgue, Ovin Jayawardena, Danial Rostami-Hochaghan, Chloe Smith, Anthony Marson, Nasir Mirza
Summary: Many brain insults and injuries increase the risk of developing epilepsy. Current antiepileptic drugs are not antiepileptogenic, but statins have shown potential as antiepileptogenic agents. However, more research is needed to determine if statins can exert a lasting effect and be administered after epileptogenic insults.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Karishma Chhabria, Karen Plant, Oliver Bandmann, Robert N. Wilkinson, Chris Martin, Elisabeth Kugler, Paul A. Armitage, Paola L. M. Santoscoy, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Jan Huisken, Alexander McGown, Tennore Ramesh, Tim J. A. Chico, Clare Howarth
JOURNAL OF CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW AND METABOLISM
(2020)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Xiaoning Wu, Helen Scott, Sigrid V. Carlsson, Daniel D. Sjoberg, Lucia Cerundolo, Hans Lilja, Remko Prevo, Guillaume Rieunier, Valentine Macaulay, Geoffrey S. Higgins, Clare L. Verrill, Alastair D. Lamb, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Chas Bountra, Freddie C. Hamdy, Richard J. Bryant
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Nan Li, James A. Oakes, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils P. Krone
JOURNAL OF ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Davide Marchi, Kirankumar Santhakumar, Eleanor Markham, Nan Li, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Nils Krone, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Fredericus J. M. van Eeden
Article
Clinical Neurology
Alistair Jones, Melissa Barker-Haliski, Andrei S. Ilie, Murray B. Herd, Sarah Baxendale, Celia J. Holdsworth, John-Paul Ashton, Marysia Placzek, Bodiabaduge A. P. Jayasekera, Christopher J. A. Cowie, Jeremy J. Lambert, Andrew J. Trevelyan, H. Steve White, Anthony G. Marson, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Graeme J. Sills, Alan Morgan
Article
Cell Biology
Irina Bacila, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils P. Krone
Summary: This article provides an overview of the development and function of zebrafish interrenal gland, and reviews its contribution to basic and translational research. By analyzing various genes and chemicals affecting steroidogenesis, it reveals the value of zebrafish in steroid biosynthesis research.
MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Ibrahim Jubber, Duncan R. Morhardt, Jonathan Griffin, Marcus G. Cumberbatch, Maggie Glover, Yang Zheng, Ishtiaq Rehman, Catherine A. Loynes, Syed A. Hussain, Stephen A. Renshaw, Steven D. Leach, Vincent T. Cunliffe, James W. F. Catto
Summary: Little is known about the urinary tract in zebrafish, which is impacted by human diseases and developmental disorders. Through multi-level analyses, this study reveals the structure and composition of the zebrafish urinary tract. Uroplakin 1a, Uroplakin 2, and Uroplakin 3b genes, orthologues to human genes encoding urothelium-specific proteins, were identified in the zebrafish genome. The expression of uroplakin 1a was observed in the pronephros and cloaca of zebrafish. Histological staining and immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of a urinary bladder with a distinct urethral opening in zebrafish, showing homology with the human urinary tract. Fluorescent dye injections demonstrated the urinary bladder function in zebrafish. These findings highlight the potential of zebrafish as a model system to study disease.
DISEASE MODELS & MECHANISMS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Julia S. Pinho, Vincent Cunliffe, Kyriacos Kareklas, Giovanni Petri, Rui F. F. Oliveira
Summary: Zebrafish in a classical conditioning paradigm show similar learning performance but distinct brain region activation in social or asocial conditioned stimuli, suggesting the presence of a general-purpose learning module that is modulated differently by localized activation. Whether social and asocial learning share the same mechanisms is still debated.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Helen Eachus, Lara Oberski, Jack Paveley, Irina Bacila, John-Paul Ashton, Umberto Esposito, Fayaz Seifuddin, Mehdi Pirooznia, Eran Elhaik, Marysia Placzek, Nils P. Krone, Vincent T. Cunliffe
Summary: This article investigates glucocorticoid resistance commonly observed in depression, which has been linked to reduced expression and/or function of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). By comparing the brain methylomes and transcriptomes of wild-type and GR-mutant zebrafish, the authors identify 249 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) regulated by GR. They also find GR-regulated genes associated with chaperone-mediated protein folding, circadian rhythm regulation, metabolism regulation, and behavior, which are known to be related to unipolar depression and anxiety. The findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms through which GR mediates stress responses in the adult zebrafish brain and support the use of the zebrafish GR mutant as a model for studying affective disorders.
DISEASE MODELS & MECHANISMS
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Irina Bacila, Nan Li, Helen Eachus, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils P. Krone
HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
James A. Oakes, Lise Barnard, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils P. Krone
JOURNAL OF ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
James A. Oakes, Nan Li, Belinda R. C. Wistow, Aliesha Griffin, Lise Barnard, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils P. Krone
Meeting Abstract
Endocrinology & Metabolism
James A. Oakes, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils P. Krone
HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS
(2019)
Meeting Abstract
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Nan Li, James A. Oakes, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils P. Krone
HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS
(2019)
Meeting Abstract
Endocrinology & Metabolism
James A. Oakes, Nan Liz, Belinda Wistow, Karl-Heinz Storbeck, Vincent T. Cunliffe, Nils Krone
HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS
(2018)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Aline Silva da Cruz, Maria Margarida Drehmer, Wagner Baetas-da-Cruz, Joao Carlos Machado
Summary: This study quantified microcirculation cerebral blood flow in a rat model of ischemic stroke using ultrasound biomicroscopy and ultrasound contrast agents. The results showed high sensitivity and specificity of this method, making it a valuable tool for preclinical studies.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Christina Dalla, Ivana Jaric, Pavlina Pavlidi, Georgia E. Hodes, Nikolaos Kokras, Anton Bespalov, Martien J. Kas, Thomas Steckler, Mohamed Kabbaj, Hanno Wuerbel, Jordan Marrocco, Jessica Tollkuhn, Rebecca Shansky, Debra Bangasser, Jill B. Becker, Margaret McCarthy, Chantelle Ferland-Beckham
Summary: Many funding agencies have emphasized the importance of considering sex as a biological variable in experimental design to improve the reproducibility and translational relevance of preclinical research. Omitting the female sex from experimental designs in neuroscience and pharmacology can result in biased or limited understanding of disease mechanisms. This article provides methodological considerations for incorporating sex as a biological variable in in vitro and in vivo experiments, including the influence of age and hormone levels, and proposes strategies to enhance methodological rigor and translational relevance in preclinical research.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Wenyu Gu, Dongxu Li, Jia-Hong Gao
Summary: We developed a precise and rapid method for positioning and labelling triaxial OPMs on a wearable magnetoencephalography (MEG) system, improving the efficiency of OPM positioning and labelling.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kai Lin, Linhang Zhang, Jing Cai, Jiaqi Sun, Wenjie Cui, Guangda Liu
Summary: The article introduces an EEG feature map processing model for emotion recognition, which achieves significantly improved accuracy by fusing EEG information at different spatial scales and introducing a channel attention mechanism.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
John E. Parker, Asier Aristieta, Aryn H. Gittis, Jonathan E. Rubin
Summary: This work presents a toolbox that implements a methodology for automated classification of neural responses based on spike train recordings. The toolbox provides a user-friendly and efficient approach to detect various types of neuronal responses that may not be identified by traditional methods.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Yun Liang, Ke Bo, Sreenivasan Meyyappan, Mingzhou Ding
Summary: This study compared the performance of SVM and CNN on the same datasets and found that CNN achieved consistently higher classification accuracies. The classification accuracies of SVM and CNN were generally not correlated, and the heatmaps derived from them did not overlap significantly.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Antonino Visalli, Maria Montefinese, Giada Viviani, Livio Finos, Antonino Vallesi, Ettore Ambrosini
Summary: This study introduces an analytical strategy that allows the use of mixed-effects models (LMM) in mass univariate analyses of EEG data. The proposed method overcomes the computational costs and shows excellent performance properties, making it increasingly important in the field of neuroscience.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Xavier Cano-Ferrer, Alexandra Tran -Van -Minh, Ede Rancz
Summary: This study developed a novel rotation platform for studying neural processes and spatial navigation. The platform is modular, affordable, and easy to build, and can be driven by the experimenter or animal movement. The research demonstrated the utility of the platform, which combines the benefits of head fixation and intact vestibular activity.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)