Title:The Potential Role of Pro-Inflammatory and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines in Epilepsy Pathogenesis
Volume: 21
Issue: 10
Author(s): Ali N. Kamali, Zeineb Zian, José M. Bautista, Haleh Hamedifar, Nikoo Hossein-Khannazer, Ramin Hosseinzadeh, Reza Yazdani and Gholamreza Azizi*
Affiliation:
- Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj,Iran
Keywords:
Epilepsy, seizure, neuroinflammation, pro-inflammatory mediators, cytokine.
Abstract: Within the pathophysiology of epilepsy, as a chronic brain disorder, the involvement of
neuroinflammation has been extensively implied. Recurrent seizures of epilepsy have been associated
with elevated levels of immune mediators that seem to play a pivotal role in triggering them.
Neurons, glia, and endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) take part in such inflammatory
processes by expressing receptors of associated mediators through autocrine and paracrine stimulation
of intracellular signaling pathways. In this milieu, elevated cytokine levels in serum and
brain tissue have been reported in patients with an epileptic profile. Noteworthy, interleukin
(IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) are the proinflammatory cytokines mostly
associated, in literature, with the pathogenesis of epilepsies. In this review, we examine the function
of these cytokines in connection with transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), IL-8, IL-12,
IL-18, and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP) as potential proinflammatory mediators in the
neuropathology of epilepsy.
