Mossy cells in epilepsy: rigor mortis or vigor mortis?

Mossy cells are bi-directionally connected through a positive feedback loop to granule cells, the principal cells of the dentate gyrus. This recurrent circuit is strategically placed between the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampal CA3 region. In spite of their potentially pro-convulsive arrangement with granule cells, mossy cells have not been seriously considered to promote seizures, because mossy cells, allegedly one of the most vulnerable cell types in the entire mammalian brain, have long been 'known' to die en masse in epilepsy. However, new data suggest that rumors of the rapid demise of the mossy cells might have been greatly exaggerated.