Hippocampal sclerosis (HS)) is a pathological condition characterized by neuronal loss and gliosis in the hippocampus, commonly observed in Alzheimer's disease, temporal lobe epilepsy, and frontotemporal dementia. The dentate hilus mossy cells are among the first neurons to degenerate in HS, contributing to hyperexcitability and circuit dysfunction. [1]
Mossy cells, also known as hilar mossy cells or dentate hilus pyramidal cells, are excitatory neurons that provide powerful feedback excitation to granule cells through their mossy fiber projections. Their loss is a hallmark of HS and contributes to the epileptogenic circuitry. [2]
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | Hippocampus |
| Location | Dentate hilus (polymorphic layer) |
| Cell Type | Glutamatergic mossy cells |
| Projection | Mossy fibers to CA3 pyramidal cells |
| Neurotransmitter | Glutamate (excitatory) |
| Taxonomy | ID | Name / Label |
|---|---|---|
| Cell Ontology (CL) | CL:4042028 | immature neuron |
Mossy cells exhibit remarkable selective vulnerability in HS: [4]
The loss of mossy cells disrupts the delicate excitation/inhibition balance in the dentate gyrus: [5]
| Feature | Mechanism |
|---|---|
| Epilepsy | Hyperexcitable dentate gyrus |
| Memory impairment | Pattern separation deficits |
| Cognitive decline | Hippocampal circuit dysfunction |
| Temporal lobe seizures | Seizure focus in sclerotic hippocampus |
Mossy cell degeneration is increasingly recognized in Alzheimer's disease: [6]
See Dentate Gyrus Mossy Cells in Alzheimer's Disease for more details.
](/diseases/mossy-fiber-terminals
--temporal-lobe-epilepsy)## External Links
Blumer V, et al. Mossy cells of the dentate gyrus: a comprehensive review of their function. Brain Res Rev. 2015. 2015. ↩︎
Scharfman HE. The dentate gyrus as a filter for granule cell output. Prog Brain Res. 2007. 2007. ↩︎
Amaral DG, et al. Organization of CA3 in the rat hippocampus. J Comp Neurol. 2008. 2008. ↩︎
Thom M. Hippocampal sclerosis: progress in understanding the cellular mechanisms. Acta Neuropathol. 2009. 2009. ↩︎
Buckmaster PS. Mossy fiber sprouting in the dentate gyrus. Epilepsy Curr. 2012. 2012. ↩︎
Palop JJ, et al. Aberrant excitatory network activity and dysregulated synaptic protein expression in Alzheimer brain. Nat Neurosci. 2011. 2011. ↩︎