MicroRNAs and epigenetic processes in FSE-provoked epilepsy

The causal mechanisms by which prolonged FS during early childhood may result in aberrant hyperexcitable circuitry and epilepsy are not well understood. Changes in the properties of neurons and supporting cells that compose these networks constitute an important mechanism of epileptogenesis and epilepsy development. Gene expression and gene expression regulation are critical regulators of neuronal phenotype. Prolonged FS have been shown to persistently alter gene readout and this may initiate several pathomechanisms of epileptogenesis. Here, we discuss the involvement of epigenetic factors and miRNAs in the epileptogenesis which follows prolonged FS and how they are involved in the establishment and maintenance of hyperexcitable brain networks. We describe the importance of tight epigenetic and gene control in the developing brain and how brain insults like prolonged FS can alter developmental trajectory by altering these processes. We also discuss the diagnostic biomarker potential of miRNAs as well as the therapeutic potential of drugs and antisense oligonucleotides which target these processes as blockers of prolonged FS-evoked epilepsy.