Expression of laminin ß1 and integrin α2 in the anterior temporal neocortex tissue of patients with intractable epilepsy.

We investigated the expression of laminin ß1 and integrin α2 in the anterior temporal neocortex tissue of patients with intractable epilepsy and explored the role of these molecules in the pathogenesis of this disease. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to test the expression of laminin ß1 and integrin α2 in samples (from the brain bank of our department, n=32) of surgically removed anterior temporal neocortex tissues from intractable epilepsy patients, and the results were compared with those of controls (n=10). We found that laminin ß1 and integrin α2 protein expression was significantly increased in the anterior temporal neocortex as compared with controls (immunohistochemistry optical density: laminin ß1 = 0.36 ± 0.01 vs. 0.10 ± 0.03 for control; integrin α2=0.42 ± 0.02 vs. 0.04 ± 0.01 for control; p<.05). Immunofluorescence staining indicated that laminin ß1 and integrin α2 accumulated in the plasma membrane and cytoplasm, with strong fluorescence intensity in the anterior temporal neocortex tissue of patients with intractable epilepsy. Thus, our work demonstrates that laminin ß1 and integrin α2 expression is elevated in the anterior temporal neocortex tissue from patients with intractable epilepsy.