Neuroinflammatory pathways as treatment targets and biomarkers in epilepsy

• Published in: Nature reviews. Neurology Vol. 15; no. 8; pp. 459 - 472
• Main Authors: Vezzani, Annamaria, Balosso, Silvia, Ravizza, Teresa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.08.2019; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/80/304; 692/308/575; 692/420/256; 692/699/375/178; Animals; Arachidonic Acid - metabolism; Biological markers; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Brain; Cellular signal transduction; Convulsions & seizures; Development and progression; Diagnosis; Drug resistance; Drug therapy; Encephalitis - complications; Encephalitis - diagnosis; Encephalitis - metabolism; Epilepsy; Epilepsy - complications; Epilepsy - diagnosis; Epilepsy - metabolism; Epilepsy - therapy; Growth factors; Humans; Inflammation; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurological research; Neurology; Oxidative Stress; Prostaglandins - metabolism; Receptors, Interleukin-1 - metabolism; Review Article; Signal Transduction; Toll-Like Receptor 4 - metabolism; Transforming Growth Factor beta - metabolism; Italy
• ISSN: 1759-4758; 1759-4766; 1759-4766
• DOI: 10.1038/s41582-019-0217-x

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease characterized by an enduring propensity for generation of seizures. The pathogenic processes of seizure generation and recurrence are the subject of intensive preclinical and clinical investigations as their identification would enable development of novel treatments that prevent epileptic seizures and reduce seizure burden. Such treatments are particularly needed for pharmacoresistant epilepsies, which affect ~30% of patients. Neuroinflammation is commonly activated in epileptogenic brain regions in humans and is clearly involved in animal models of epilepsy. An increased understanding of neuroinflammatory mechanisms in epilepsy has identified cellular and molecular targets for new mechanistic therapies or existing anti-inflammatory drugs that could overcome the limitations of current medications, which provide only symptomatic control of seizures. Moreover, inflammatory mediators in the blood and molecular imaging of neuroinflammation could provide diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers for epilepsy, which will be instrumental for patient stratification in future clinical studies. In this Review, we focus on our understanding of the IL-1 receptor–Toll-like receptor 4 axis, the arachidonic acid–prostaglandin cascade, oxidative stress and transforming growth factor-β signalling associated with blood–brain barrier dysfunction, all of which are pathways that are activated in pharmacoresistant epilepsy in humans and that can be modulated in animal models to produce therapeutic effects on seizures, neuronal cell loss and neurological comorbidities. In this Review, Vezzani and colleagues discuss inflammatory pathways that are activated in pharmacoresistant epilepsy and can be modulated to therapeutic effect in animal models. They consider how targeting these pathways could overcome limitations of existing anti-epileptic treatments. Key points Activation of neuroinflammatory pathways in epileptogenic brain areas is common in structural (acquired or genetic) epilepsies. Neuroinflammation is an intrinsic brain response that involves activation of innate immunity mechanisms in glia, neurons and the microvasculature. Inflammatory mediators, such as IL-1β, tumour necrosis factor, high mobility group box 1, transforming growth factor-β and prostaglandins, can alter neuronal, glial and blood–brain barrier functions by activating transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms in brain cells. If not adequately controlled, neuroinflammation contributes to seizures, neuronal cell loss, maladaptive synaptic plasticity and comorbidities. Target-specific anti-inflammatory interventions in animal models of epilepsy have anti-ictogenic, anti-epileptogenic and disease-modifying therapeutic effects. Initial clinical studies have shown that some anti-inflammatory drugs have therapeutic effects on drug-resistant seizures and that neuroinflammatory factors could act as disease biomarkers.