Postnatal Changes in K/Cl Cotransporter-2 Expression in the Forebrain of Mice Bearing a Mutant Nicotinic Subunit Linked to Sleep-Related Epilepsy.

The Na/K/Cl cotransporter-1 (NKCC1) and the K/Cl cotransporter-2 (KCC2) set the transmembrane Cl gradient in the brain, and are implicated in epileptogenesis. We studied the postnatal distribution of NKCC1 and KCC2 in wild-type (WT) mice, and in a mouse model of sleep-related epilepsy, carrying the mutant β2-V287L subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). In WT neocortex, immunohistochemistry showed a wide distribution of NKCC1 in neurons and astrocytes.