Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by a long-lasting predisposition to recurrently generate unprovoked seizures. Epilepsy affects over 70 million people worldwide, with approximately one-third suffering from pharmacoresistant seizures. Currently, the clinical antiseizure drugs lack efficacy in preventing epileptogenesis. Adenosine, as an endogenous anticonvulsant, inhibits the development of epilepsy via interaction with the molecular epileptogenic network on several levels: (i) Activation of A1 receptor inhibits glutamate release via presynaptic inhibition, and hyperpolarizes the synaptic potentials in postsynaptic neurons. (ii) The A2A receptor on astrocytes interacts with astroglial glutamate transporter GLT-1, controlling glial glutamate homeostasis. (iii) Activation of the A3 receptor inhibits GABA transporter type 1-mediated GABA uptake. (iv) Adenosine kinase (ADK) is highlighted as a pathological hallmark of epilepsy, with its distinct isoforms driving different mechanisms. The cytoplasmic short isoform (ADK-S) in astrocytes controls extracellular adenosine and receptor-mediated pathways, whereas the nuclear long isoform (ADK-L) in astrocytes and specific neurons regulates epigenetic mechanisms without relying on adenosine receptors. Collectively, this review clarifies the adenosine system’s critical regulatory role in the epileptogenic network, highlights adenosine receptors and ADK isoforms as promising therapeutic targets for epilepsy, and provides a theoretical basis for developing novel disease-modifying therapies for pharmacoresistant epilepsy while laying a foundation for subsequent preclinical and clinical translation.
Zhao et al. (2026) studied this question.