Larissa Kraus -Single Cell Club May 2026 Seminar
A unifying neuropathological spectrum underlies medial temporal lobe epilepsy
Dr. Larissa Kraus, postdoctoral researcher, Cembrowski lab, UBC
Abstract: Medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE), characterized by seizures arising from the hippocampus, is the most common form of focal epilepsy. Discrete histopathological subtypes, based upon coarse regional patterns of hippocampal neuronal loss, are the field-standard framework for interpreting mTLE-associated neuropathology. Here, using single-cell spatial transcriptomics to profile >1.1 million cells from the hippocampus of 18 individuals, we examine molecular-cellular alterations in mTLE and reassess this discrete-subtype framework. Our data reveal previously unresolved signatures of molecular-cellular vulnerability in mTLE, including neuronal degeneration, glial remodeling, and significant network reorganization. We also identify a pathological spectrum 鈥� resolvable at the level of molecules, cells, and regions 鈥� that accounts for supposedly discrete histopathological subtypes and is described by therapeutically-relevant cellular programs. Ultimately, our work reveals new principles underlying human hippocampal organization and dysregulation in mTLE, identifies therapeutic targets conserved across the mTLE spectrum, and provides the most comprehensive histopathological atlas of mTLE to date.
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Chair: Kate Bornais
