Epilepsy constitutes a global health concern, affecting millions of individuals and approximately one-third of patients exhibit drug resistance. Recent investigations have revealed alterations in cerebral iron content in both epilepsy patients and animal models. However, the extant literature lacks a comprehensive exploration into the ramifications of modulating iron homeostasis as an intervention in epilepsy. This study investigated the impact of deferasirox, a iron ion chelator, on epilepsy. This study unequivocally substantiated the antiepileptic efficacy of deferasirox in a kainic acid-induced epilepsy model. Furthermore, deferasirox administration mitigated seizure susceptibility in a pentylenetetrazol-induced kindling model. Conversely, the augmentation of iron levels through supplementation has emerged as a potential exacerbating factor in the precipitating onset of epilepsy. Intriguingly, our investigation revealed a hitherto unreported discovery: ITPRIP was identified as a pivotal modulator of excitatory synaptic transmission, regulating seizures in response to deferasirox treatment. In summary, our findings indicate that deferasirox exerts its antiepileptic effects through the precise targeting of ITPRIP and amelioration of cerebral iron homeostasis, suggesting that deferasirox is a promising and novel therapeutic avenue for interventions in epilepsy.

Epigenetic gene silencing of the tumor suppressor death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) is implicated in the progression of malignant gliomas. However, the mechanism underlying the repression of DAPK1 in gliomas remains elusive. In this study, we identified the existence of DAPK1-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R)-interacting protein (ITPRIP) -myosin regulatory light polypeptide 9 (MYL9) complex in malignant glioma cells. Lentivirus co-infection and coimmunoprecipitation showed that ITPRIP bound with the death domain (DD) of DAPK1 in vitro. Further, dissociating ITPRIP-DAPK1 interaction inhibited glioma tumor growth in vitro but not in vivo. Moreover, knockdown of ITPRIP or DAPK1 impaired the ternary complex formation, whereas MYL9 knockdown did not affect ITPRIP-DAPK1 association. We further found that ITPRIP recruited MYL9 to the kinase domain (KD) of DAPK1, and in turn impeded the phosphorylation of MYL9. Accordingly, interference of ITPRIP enhanced the suppressive effects of DAPK1-KD on glioma progression both in vitro and in vivo. Our results demonstrate that ITPRIP plays a crucial role in the inhibition of DAPK1 and enhancement of tumorigenic properties of malignant glioma cells.