NARILIS lunch seminar | Dr. Mélanie MORIN-BRUREAU, Sorbonne Université, Paris

We are pleased to invite you to a seminar given by

Dr. Mélanie Morin-Brureau ^PhD

Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine, CRSA, Immune System and Neuroinflammation Laboratory, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris

Her seminar is entitled:

Neuro immune interaction in Epilepsy

There isn't just one epilepsy, but rather multiple types of epilepsies, which represent the second most common neurological condition in the world. Often pharmacoresistant, research requires an understanding of the pathophysiological phenomena involved in the development of epilepsies. We are particularly interested in neuro-immune interactions, specifically the role of the peripheral immune system in the dysregulation of the blood-brain barrier, which is recognized as epileptogenic.

In human epileptic foci and in animal models of epilepsy, there is an angiogenesis associated with a loss of blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity. Interestingly, this disruption of BBB is only observed in cases of epileptic seizures associated with inflammatory processes. Inflammation in epilepsy is complex and observed in the epileptic focus, with a specific microglial activation, and at the periphery, with a chronic increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines. Interestingly, IL-8 is elevated both in the periphery and in the brain. IL-8 is the cytokine associated with the activation and attraction of neutrophils. Neutrophils are key cells in the innate immune response.  First cells to arrive at an inflammatory site, their overactivation leads to tissue toxicity and loss of BBB integrity. Interestingly, we observed in epileptic patients, a specific activation phenotype of neutrophils whose secretome leads to an increase of endothelial  permeability

Understanding these neuro-immune interactions could lead to new potential therapeutic targets capable of breaking the vicious cycle that leads to epileptic seizures.

Invited by Prof. Charles Nicaise, UNamur, URPhyM