Neuronal calcium signaling pathways are associated with the development of epilepsy

Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder worldwide, however, the specific causative factors and mechanisms underlying epilepsy remain unclear. The current study aimed to study the potential genes or pathways associated with epilepsy, based on rat miRNA expression profiles. The microarray dataset GSE49850 was downloaded and analyzed with the TimeCourse R software package, which was used to generate comparisons between the control and electrically-stimulated groups. The target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were queried in the miRWalk database and functional enrichment was conducted using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery software tools. The interaction network of the target genes was constructed based on the Biomolecular Interaction Network Database and clustered using ClusterONE. In total, 152 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, with rno-miR-21-5p being the most significantly differentially expressed. A total of 526 target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs were obtained. Functional analysis indicated that these genes were predominantly involved in responses to stimuli. The interaction network showed that the GRIN and STX gene family, which are involved in synaptic signal transmission, were significant. In conclusion, the present study identified that the development of epilepsy was closely associated with neuronal calcium signaling pathways.