In patients suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), increased extracellular glutamate levels in the epileptogenic hippocampus both during and after clinical seizures have been reported. These increased glutamate levels could be the result of malfunctioning and/or downregulation of glutamate transporters (also known as EAATs; excitatory amino acid transporters). In this study, the distribut...

Mutations in WD40-repeat protein 62 (WDR62) are commonly associated with primary microcephaly and other developmental cortical malformations. We used human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) to examine WDR62 function during human neural differentiation and model early stages of human corticogenesis. Neurospheres lacking WDR62 expression showed decreased expression of intermediate progenitor marker, ...

Glutamate uptake by astrocytes is fundamentally important in the regulation of CNS function. Disruption of uptake can lead to excitotoxicity and is implicated in various neurodegenerative processes as well as a consequence of hypoxic/ischemic events. Here, we investigate the effect of hypoxia on activity and expression of the key glutamate transporters excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAT1...

We recently found evidence for anatomic and physical linkages between the astroglial Na(+)-dependent glutamate transporters (GLT-1/EAAT2 and GLAST/EAAT1) and mitochondria. In these same studies, we found that the glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) inhibitor, epigallocatechin-monogallate (EGCG), inhibits both glutamate oxidation and Na(+)-dependent glutamate uptake in astrocytes. In the present study...

BACKGROUND Many studies link depression to an increase in the excitatory-inhibitory ratio in the forebrain. Presynaptic alterations in a shared pathway of the glutamate/gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) cycle may account for this imbalance. Evidence suggests that decreased vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1) levels in the forebrain affect the glutamate/GABA cycle and induce helpless behavio...

Complex barriers at the brain's surface, particularly in development, are poorly defined. In the adult, arachnoid blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier separates the fenestrated dural vessels from the CSF by means of a cell layer joined by tight junctions. Outer CSF-brain barrier provides diffusion restriction between brain and subarachnoid CSF through an initial radial glial end feet layer c...