Language

English

Publication Date

11-14-2023

Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-42922-y

PMID

37963879

PMCID

PMC10645975

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

11-14-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that poses a major threat to public health. Hyperactivation of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) is believed to lead to abnormal network rhythmicity associated with epilepsy, and its inhibition is proposed to provide some therapeutic benefit. However, mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) is also activated in the epileptic brain, and little is known about its role in seizures. Here we discover that genetic deletion of mTORC2 from forebrain neurons is protective against kainic acid-induced behavioral and EEG seizures. Furthermore, inhibition of mTORC2 with a specific antisense oligonucleotide robustly suppresses seizures in several pharmacological and genetic mouse models of epilepsy. Finally, we identify a target of mTORC2, Nav1.2, which has been implicated in epilepsy and neuronal excitability. Our findings, which are generalizable to several models of human seizures, raise the possibility that inhibition of mTORC2 may serve as a broader therapeutic strategy against epilepsy.

Keywords

Mice, Humans, Animals, TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases, Epilepsy, Seizures, Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 2, Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1, Epilepsy, Molecular neuroscience

Published Open-Access

yes

Included in

Neurosciences Commons

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