Downregulation of KCNMB4 expression and changes in BK channel subtype in hippocampal granule neurons following seizure activity.

ABSTRACT: A major challenge is to understand maladaptive changes in ion channels that sets neurons on a course towards epilepsy development. Voltage- and calcium-activated K+ (BK) channels contribute to early spike timing in neurons, and studies indicate that the BK channel plays a pathological role in increasing excitability early after a seizure. Here, we have investigated changes in BK channels and their accessory β4 subunit (KCNMB4) in dentate gyrus (DG) granule neurons of the hippocampus, key neurons that regulate excitability of the hippocampus circuit. Two days after pilocarpine-induced seizures, we found that the predominant effect is a downregulation of the β4 accessory subunit mRNA. Consistent with reduced expression, single channel recording and pharmacology indicate a switch in the subty

SUBMITTER: Whitmire LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5690595 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature