Mice with type I interferon signaling deficiency are prone to epilepsy upon HSV-1 infection

Viral encephalitis continues to be a significant public health concern.In our previous study,we discovered a lower expression of antiviral factors,such as IFN-β,STING and IFI16,in the brain tissues of patients with Rasmussen's encephalitis(RE),a rare chronic neurological disorder often occurred in children,characterized by unihemispheric brain atrophy.Furthermore,a higher cumulative viral score of human herpes viruses(HHVs)was also found to have a significant positive correlation with the unihemispheric atrophy in RE.Type I IFNs(IFN-I)signaling is essential for innate anti-infection response by binding to IFN-α/βreceptor(IFNAR).In this study,we infected WT mice and IFNAR-deficient A6 mice with herpes simplex virus 1(HSV-1)via periocular injection to investigate the relationship between IFN-I signaling and HHVs-induced brain lesions.While all mice exhibited typical viral encephalitis lesions in their brains,HSV-induced epilepsy was only observed in A6 mice.The gene expression matrix,functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network revealed four gene models that were positively related with HSV-induced epilepsy.Additionally,ten key genes with the highest scores were identified.Taken together,these findings indicate that intact IFN-I signaling can effectively limit HHVs induced neural symptoms and brain lesions,thereby confirming the positive correlation between IFN-I signaling repression and brain atrophy in RE and other HHVs encephalitis.

Treatment of Epilepsy with Bipolar Electro-coagulation： An Analysis of Cortical Blood Flow and Histological Change in Temporal Lobe

Background：Bipolar electro-coagulation has a reported efficacy in treating epilepsy involving functional cortex by pure electro-coagulation or combination with resection.However,the mechanisms of bipolar electro-coagulation are not completely known.We studied the acute cortical blood flow and histological changes after bipolar electro-coagulation in 24 patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy.Methods：Twenty-four patients were consecutively enrolled,and divided into three groups according to the date of admission.The regional cortical blood flow （rCBF）,electrocorticography,the depth of cortex damage,and acute histological changes （H and E staining,neuronal staining and neurofilament （NF） staining） were analyzed before and after the operation.The t-test analysis was used to compare the rCBF before and after the operation.Results：The rCBF after coagulation was significantly reduced （P 〈 0.05）.The spikes were significantly reduced after electro-coagulation.For the temporal cortex,the depth of cortical damage with output power of 2-9 W after electro-coagulation was 0.34 ± 0.03,0.48 ± 0.06,0.69 ± 0.06,0.84 ± 0.09,0.98 ± 0.08,1.10 ± 0.1 l,1.11 ± 0.09,and 1.22 ± 0.11 mm,respectively.Coagulation with output power of 4-5 W completely damaged the neurons and NF protein in the molecular layer,external granular layer,and external pyramidal layer.Conclusions：The electro-coagulation not only destroyed the neurons and NF protein,but also reduced the rCBF.We concluded that the injuries caused by electro-coagulation would prevent horizontal synchronization and spread of epileptic discharges,and partially destroy the epileptic focus.