The Potential Role of Polyamines in Epilepsy and Epilepsy-Related Pathophysiological Changes

Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders and severely impacts the life quality of patients. Polyamines are ubiquitous, positively charged aliphatic amines that are present at a relatively high level and help regulate the maintenance of cell membrane excitability and neuronal physiological functions in the central nervous system. Studies have shown abnormalities in the synthesis and catabolism of polyamines in patients with epilepsy and in animal models of epilepsy. The polyamine system seems to involve in the pathophysiological processes of epilepsy via several mechanisms such as the regulation of ion permeability via interaction with ion channels, involvement in antioxidation as hydroperoxide scavengers, and the induction of cell damage via the production of toxic metabolites. In this review, we try to describe the possible associations between polyamines and epilepsy and speculate that the polyamine system is a potential target for the development of novel strategies for epilepsy treatment.

Unveiling the hidden players: noncoding RNAs orchestrating polyamine metabolism in disease

“…The role of PA and their metabolic enzyme in brain function, development and pathology has now emerged [29,[128][129][130][131][132][133]. The key biosynthetic enzyme Amd1 is regulated by miR-762 during neuronal progenitor cell differentiation, leading to a significant reduction in Amd1 protein levels (Table 1) [134].…”

Spider and Wasp Acylpolyamines: Venom Components and Versatile Pharmacological Leads, Probes, and Insecticidal Agents

“…In vivo, N 1 -Dansyl-spermine is a dose-dependent antagonist of spermine-induced CNS NMDA-mediated excitation in mice, which causes body tremors and tonic convulsions [ 83 ]. Such neuroprotective properties qualify this polyamine derivate and other related polyamines for further research on treating neurological disorders like epilepsy [ 84 ]. In the same line, parawixin (Pwtx)-1, -2, and -10, 4-hydroxy-indol-3-acetyl-type acylpolyamines of the social orb-web spider Parawixia bistriata , have neuroprotective properties, since they, respectively, (1) stimulate L-glutamate uptake through the main transporter in the CNS, (2) inhibit GABA and glycine uptake in synaptosomes, and (3) increase L-glutamate uptake in synaptosomes [ 85 ].…”