Yingbei Qi1 • Heming Cheng1,2 • Yi Wang1,2 • Zhong Chen1,2
1 Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
2 Key Laboratory of Neuropharmacology and Translational Medicine of Zhejiang Province, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
Abstract
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by hyperexcitability in the brain. Its pathogenesis is classically associated with an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Calretinin (CR) is one of the three major types of calcium-binding proteins present in inhibitory GABAergic neurons. The functions of CR and its role in neural excitability are still unknown. Recent data suggest that CR neurons have diverse neurotransmitters, morphologies, distributions, and functions in different brain regions across various species. Notably, CR neurons in the hippocampus, amygdala, neocortex, and thalamus are extremely susceptible to excitotoxicity in the epileptic brain, but the causal relationship is unknown. In this review, we focus on the heterogeneous functions of CR neurons in different brain regions and their relationship with neural excitability and epilepsy. Importantly, we provide perspectives on future investigations of the role of CR neurons in epilepsy.
Keywords
Calretinin; Epilepsy; Calcium-binding protein; Neuronal excitability
