Regulation of GABAA receptor gene expression and epilepsy

Abstract

Although multiple genes drive epileptogenesis, uncovering the mechanisms controlling expression of GABAA receptors (GABAARs), the brain's major inhibitory receptors, may have far-reaching therapeutic implications. In this review, we describe how seizure-induced changes in GABAARs result from brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-induced changes in Janus kinase/Signal Transducer and Activators of Transcription (JAK/STAT), cAMP response element binding protein/inducible cAMP early repressor (CREB/ICER), and early growth factor (Egr3) signaling, and discuss implications for prevention and treatment. For an expanded treatment of this topic see Jasper's Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies, Fourth Edition (Noebels JL, Avoli M, Rogawski MA, Olsen RW, Delgado-Escueta AV, eds) published by Oxford University Press (available on the National Library of Medicine Bookshelf [NCBI] at). © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy.