MicroRNAs in Epileptogenesis and Epilepsy

154 Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disease affecting people of all ages. It is characterized by an enduring predisposition to seizures; a result of abnormal, excessive synchronization of neurons. The epileptogenic process features change to multiple signaling pathways including those regulating neuronal morphology and function, gliosis, neuroinflammation, and cell death. Recent work has identified select changes to microRNA levels within the hippocampus that may promote or oppose aberrant gene expression during epileptogenesis and in established epilepsy. Functional interrogation has been undertaken using intracerebral delivery of chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides (antagomirs) and genetic techniques. This has demonstrated roles for microRNAs in seizure-induced cell death (miR-34a, miR-184), inflammation (miR-146a), and neuronal microstructure (miR-128, miR-132, miR-134), in epilepsy. This chapter summarizes work that has characterized microRNA expression in experimental and human epilepsy and the evidence that functional manipulation of microRNAs may be a novel approach to treat or prevent epilepsy.