Journal of Molecular Neuroscience 2015-12-01

Elevated Expression of the Delta-Subunit of Epithelial Sodium Channel in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients and Rat Model.

Zhonggui Li, Xiujuan Mi, Yan Xiong, Xin Xu, Xuefeng Wang, Liang Wang

文献索引：J. Mol. Neurosci. 57 , 510-8, (2015)

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摘要

Epilepsy is one of the most common, chronic, neurological diseases. The pathology of epilepsy is based on abnormal synchronization of neuronal discharges. Epithelial sodium channels, which are constitutively active, non-voltage-gated, highly selective sodium channels belonging to the epithelial sodium channel/degenerin (ENaC/deg) family, contribute to resting membrane potential modulation and subsequent neuronal excitability by providing a sodium influx pathway. Different from the other three subunits, δ ENaC expression is prominent in the human brain cortex and restricted to neurons. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression pattern of δ ENaC in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and in a pilocarpine-induced rat model of epilepsy. Adopting immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and western blot analysis, we found that δ ENaC was restricted to neurons in the temporal neocortices of TLE patients and the cortices and hippocampus of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy rats, which were similar to the corresponding controls. However, δ ENaC expression was significantly elevated in TLE patients and the pilocarpine-induced epileptic rats. The physiological role, the unchanged localization, and the elevated expression of δ ENaC suggested it could play an important role in epilepsy.