Induction of astrocytic cyclooxygenase-2 in epileptic patients with hippocampal sclerosis.
Induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been described in a wide range of neurological diseases including animal models of epilepsy. The present study was undertaken to assess COX-2 expression in hippocampal biopsies from patients with therapy-refractive temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). For this purpose, hippocampal CA1 subfield was dissected from epileptic patients with (n=5) or without (n=2) hippocampal sclerosis (HS). COX-2 expression was investigated using immunohistochemistry and semi-quantitative RT-PCR. COX-2 immunoreactivity in TLE patient material in the absence of HS was restricted to a few neurons of the hippocampus. In the presence of HS, on the other hand, a significant induction of astrocytic COX-2 immunoreactivity associated with a concomitant increase in the steady-state level of COX-2 mRNA was observed in the CA1 subfield. These findings suggest that induction of astrocytic COX-2 is implicated in the pathogenesis of HS in TLE and is consistent with the previous findings of increased concentrations of prostaglandins in the cerebrospinal fluid of these patients.
Desjardins
Paul
P
Neuroscience Research Unit, C.H.U.M., Hôpital Saint-Luc, 1058 St. Denis Street, Montreal, Que., Canada H2X 3J4. paul.desjardins@umontreal.ca
Sauvageau
Anny
A
Bouthillier
Alain
A
Navarro
Darren
D
Hazell
Alan S
AS
Rose
Christopher
C
Butterworth
Roger F
RF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012313:RNA / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012598:Sclerosis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology
D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012313:RNA; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases