Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by abnormal neuronal activity that arises from imbalances between excitatory and inhibitory synapses, which are highly correlated to functional and structural changes in specific brain regions. The difference between the normal and the epileptic brain may harbor genetic alterations, gene expression changes, and/or protein alterations in the epileptogenic nucleus. It is becoming increasingly clear that such differences contribute to the development of distinct epilepsy phenotypes. The current major challenges in epilepsy research include understanding the disease progression and clarifying epilepsy classifications by searching for novel molecular biomarkers. Thus, the application of molecular techniques to carry out comprehensive studies at deoxyribonucleic acid, messenger ribonucleic acid, and protein levels is of utmost importance to elucidate molecular dysregulations in the epileptic brain. The present review focused on the great diversity of technical approaches available and new research methodology, which are already being used to study molecular alterations underlying epilepsy. We have grouped the different techniques according to each step in the flow of information from DNA to RNA to proteins, and illustrated with specific examples in animal models of epilepsy, some of which are our own. Separately and collectively, the genomic and proteomic techniques, each with its own strengths and limitations, provide valuable information on molecular mechanisms underlying seizure susceptibility and regulation of neuronal excitability. Determining the molecular differences between genetic rodent models of epilepsy and their wild-type counterparts might be a key in determining mechanisms of seizure susceptibility and epileptogenesis as well as the discovery and development of novel antiepileptic agents. This article is part of the Special Issue "NEWroscience 2018".

中文翻译：

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用于表征癫痫遗传啮齿动物模型中癫痫发作易感性的分子工具

癫痫是一种慢性神经系统疾病，其特征是由兴奋性和抑制性突触之间的不平衡引起的异常神经元活动，这与特定大脑区域的功能和结构变化高度相关。正常脑和癫痫脑之间的差异可能包含致癫痫核中的遗传改变、基因表达改变和/或蛋白质改变。越来越清楚的是，这种差异有助于形成不同的癫痫表型。当前癫痫研究的主要挑战包括通过寻找新的分子生物标志物来了解疾病进展和阐明癫痫分类。因此，应用分子技术对脱氧核糖核酸、信使核糖核酸、蛋白质水平对于阐明癫痫脑中的分子失调至关重要。本综述侧重于现有技术方法的多样性和新的研究方法，这些方法已经被用于研究癫痫潜在的分子改变。我们根据从 DNA 到 RNA 再到蛋白质的信息流中的每个步骤对不同的技术进行了分组，并以癫痫动物模型中的具体例子进行了说明，其中一些是我们自己的。单独和共同地，基因组和蛋白质组学技术各有其优点和局限性，可提供有关癫痫易感性和神经元兴奋性调节的分子机制的宝贵信息。确定癫痫遗传啮齿动物模型与其野生型对应物之间的分子差异可能是确定癫痫易感性和癫痫发生机制以及发现和开发新型抗癫痫药物的关键。本文是特刊“NEWroscience 2018”的一部分。