TNF and epilepsy: Although activated microglia may promote the occurrence of epilepsy by releasing glutamate and inflammatory cytokines (such as interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α), inhibiting glutamate uptake, and reducing GABAergic transmission (Shen et al., 2023), the above-mentioned astrocytes and microglia can play a dual role in promoting and inhibiting epilepsy, which may depend on different stages of epileptogenesis.