Abstract
Microglia are the resident immune cells in the brain that constitute the brain’s innate immune system. Recent studies have revealed various functions of microglia in the development and maintenance of the central nervous system (CNS) in both health and disease. However, the role of microglia in epilepsy remains largely undiscovered, partly because of the complex phenotypes of activated microglia. Activated microglia likely exert different effects on brain function depending on the phase of epileptogenesis. In this review, we mainly focus on the animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and discuss the proepileptic and antiepileptic roles of activated microglia in the epileptic brain. Specifically, we focus on the roles of microglia in the production of inflammatory cytokines, regulation of neurogenesis, and surveillance of the surrounding environment in epilepsy.
Highlights
It is well recognized that microglia, as the brain’s main immune cells, play important roles in the development and maintenance of neural circuits during development and in adulthood that are unlikely to be replaceable by other cell types
Pioneer studies support the hypothesis of an inflammatory component, including microglia, in epilepsy [15]: after acute seizures or status epilepticus (SE) induced by convulsive drugs (e.g., kainic acid (KA), pilocarpine) or electrostimulation, microglia are rapidly activated in the brain regions affected by the convulsive stimuli
The microglial activation together with astrocytic activation likely contributes to the process of epileptogenesis in animal models of epilepsy, though the inflammatory state of glial cells decrease a few days after SE
Summary
It is well recognized that microglia, as the brain’s main immune cells, play important roles in the development and maintenance of neural circuits during development and in adulthood that are unlikely to be replaceable by other cell types. Microglia actively survey the surrounding environment, regulate neurogenesis [1,2], promote survival of neurons [3], phagocytose neurons [4,5], modulate axonal wiring [6], induce synapse formation [7], and engulf unnecessary synapses [8,9]. Microglia modify brain function through interactions with synapses [10,11] and contribute to the maintenance of synaptic function [12] and learning-dependent synapse formation [13]. The microglial activation together with astrocytic activation likely contributes to the process of epileptogenesis in animal models of epilepsy, though the inflammatory state of glial cells decrease a few days after SE. We mainly focus on temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), which is the most common and well-studied form of epilepsy [17], and discuss the possible roles of microglia in the epileptic environment
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