MicroRNA-34a activation in tuberous sclerosis complex during early brain development may lead to impaired corticogenesis

Epigenetic regulation in epilepsy: A novel mechanism and therapeutic strategy for epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures with excessive and abnormal neuronal discharges. Epileptogenesis is usually involved in neuropathological processes such as ion channel dysfunction, neuronal injury, inflammatory response, synaptic plasticity, gliocyte proliferation and mossy fiber sprouting, currently the pathogenesis of epilepsy is not yet completely understood. A growing body of studies have shown that epigenetic regulation, such as histone modifications, DNA methylation, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and restrictive element-1 silencing transcription factor/neuron-restrictive silencing factor (REST/NRSF) are also involved in epilepsy. Through epigenetic studies, we found that the synaptic dysfunction, nerve damage, cognitive dysfunction and brain development abnormalities are affected by epigenetic regulation of epilepsy-related genes in patients with epilepsy. However, the functional roles of epigenetics in pathogenesis and treatment of epilepsy are still to be explored. Therefore, profiling the array of genes that are epigenetically dysregulated in epileptogenesis is likely to advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of epilepsy and may for the amelioration of these serious human conditions provide novel insight into therapeutic strategies and diagnostic biomarkers for epilepsy to improve serious human condition.

Tuberous sclerosis complex: a case report and literature review

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant disorder with different initial symptoms and complex clinical manifestations. A 14-year-old female patient presented with persistent fever and severe headache. Medical imaging examinations revealed multiple abnormal intracranial lesions. The patient had previously been misdiagnosed with "encephalitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis" after visiting numerous hospitals. Eventually, by combing the characteristics of the case and genetic testing results, the patient was diagnosed with TSC accompanied by Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. The purpose of this case report and literature review is to improve understanding of the clinical diagnosis and treatment of TSC so as to avoid misdiagnosis, missed diagnosis, and overtreatment.

MIR34A modulates lens epithelial cell apoptosis and cataract development via the HK1/caspase 3 signaling pathway

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world. Age is a major risk factor for cataracts, and with increasing aging, the burden of cataracts will grow, but the exact details of cataractogenesis remain unclear. A recent study showed that microRNA-34a (MIR34A) is involved in the development of cataracts, but the underlying pathogenesis remains obscure. Here, our results of microRNA target prediction showed that hexokinase 1 (HK1) is one of the genes targeted by MIR34A. Based on this finding, we focused on the function of MIR34A and HK1 in the progress of cataracts, whereby the human lens epithelial cell line SRA01/04 and mouse lens were treated with MIR34A mimics and HK1 siRNA. We found that HK1 mRNA is a direct target of MIR34A, whereby the high expression of MIR34A in the cataract lens suppresses the expression of HK1. In vitro, the upregulation of MIR34A together with the downregulation of HK1 inhibits the proliferation, induces the apoptosis of SRA01/04 cells, and accelerates the opacification of mouse lenses via the HK1/caspase 3 signaling pathway. In summary, our study demonstrates that MIR34A modulates lens epithelial cell (LEC) apoptosis and cataract development through the HK1/caspase 3 signaling pathway.