InteRNA\nTechnologies announced today the recent publication of data from a\ncollaboration with University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht in Journal of\nNeuroscience showing that the downregulation of miR-135a levels can reduce\nseizure activity after the onset of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) in\nchronic-stage Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (mTLE) in mouse models. miR-135 is\na microRNA (miRNA) known to control neuronal morphology and synaptic function\nthat is upregulated in neurons in the epileptic brain. The data support the\noverall potential of miRNAs as a treatment modality in complex diseases and\nalso underscore InteRNA\u2019s expertise in the application of miRNAs as a new\ntherapeutic approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paper\nprovides novel insights into the pathological mechanisms of mTLE, which remain\npoorly understood to-date. In the study, it was shown for the first time that\nmiR-135a is significantly overexpressed in human mTLE hippocampal samples and\nthat the silencing of this specific miRNA in mouse models by an antimir\ndrastically reduces the number, severity and time spent in seizures in the SRS\nstage, an advanced disease stage where current treatments fail to induce an\neffect. Furthermore, novel neuronal downstream targets of miR-135a were\nidentified. In particular, the role of Mef2a, an activity-dependent\ntranscription factor regulating synaptic strength, was investigated in closer\ndetail. The data demonstrated that miR-135a and Mef2a show reciprocal\nexpression regulation in TLE and that Mef2a is required for miR135a-induced\ndendritic spine changes in neurons that might induce synaptic defects involved\nin the pathomechanisms of TLE. The research paper titled, \u201cAntagonizing\nincreased miR-135a levels at the chronic stage of experimental TLE reduces\nspontaneous recurrent seizures\u201d was published in Journal of Neuroscience on\nApril 23, 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTLE\naccounts for a third of all epilepsies and available treatments lack\ndisease-modifying effects and are ineffective in one third of all mTLE patients,\u201d\ncommented Prof. Jeroen Pasterkamp, PhD, Department of Translational\nNeuroscience, UMC Utrecht Brain Center. \u201cThe data from this study indicate that\ntargeting epilepsy-associated miRNAs has the potential to unlock a novel\ntherapeutic entity and provides key insights into the disease biology of\nepilepsy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roel Schaapveld, CEO of InteRNA added: \u201cThe published data provide evidence that targeting a single miRNA could represent a new modality in the epilepsy field where current treatments are solely based on ion channel blockers that only relieve symptoms rather than provide curative effects. We are encouraged by the results of this study that further validate InteRNA\u2019s proprietary miRNA platform, which has the potential to target cancer, our primary focus, as well as other complex disease states outside of the realm of oncology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n