Mechanisms of zinc-sensitive metal-regulatory transcription factor 1 induction of hippocampal epileptic network activity (C03)

• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells ; Molecular and Cellular Neurology and Neuropathology
• Term: from 2013 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 227953431

This project will focus on the mechanisms underlying the emergence of a hyperexcitable hippocampal network in temporal lobe epilepsy. The project has shown that a metal-regulatory transcription factor 1 (MTF1) is crucial in driving transformation of a subset of hippocampal neurons to bursting behavior via up-regulation of the CaV3.2 calcium channel. The project will use a combination of molecular, biochemical and electrophysiological approaches to determine the characteristics of Zn2+-sensitive MTF1-responsive neurons in epileptic network activity. It will develop a genetic label of neurons exhibiting MTF-1 activity, and then analyze the integration of this subset of cells into the circuit. In-vitro and in-vivo physiology and imaging will be used to determine how these cells are functionally integrated in epileptic networks.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1089: Synaptic Micronetworks in Health and Disease
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Albert Becker; Dr. Karen M. J. van Loo