Synaptic signaling, epilepsy and glioma growth, by Gilles Huberfeld

Summary Synaptic signaling, epilepsy and glioma growth

Gliomas are brain tumors formed by networks of connected tumor cells, nested in and interacting with neuronal networks. Neuronal activities interfere with tumor growth and occurrence of seizures affects glioma prognosis, while the developing tumor triggers seizures in the infiltrated cortex. Oncometabolites produced by tumor cells and neurotransmitters affect both the generation of epileptic activities by neurons and the growth of glioma cells through synaptic-related mechanisms, involving both GABAergic / Chloride pathways and glutamatergic signaling. This lecture will review how inhibitory and excitatory signaling drives glioma growth and how epileptic and oncological processes are interfering, with a special focus on the human brain.

Short biography Gilles Huberfeld, MD-PhD is both a neurologist dedicated to epileptology and neurophysiology, working in Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris and a neuroscientist at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, College de France, INSERM U1050, Paris. His translational research aims at deciphering dysfunctions of neuronal behavior and interactions in neurological diseases, both at the level of the electrophysiological signal they produce and at the level of synaptic signaling. His team focuses on epilepsy and glioma growth shared mechanisms and on the development of innovative recording systems of brain activities. more information