Increased expression of GABA(A) receptor beta-subunits in the hippocampus of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

It has been postulated that dysfunction of the GABA-ergic transmission is causatively related to the development of epilepsy. Animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) revealed considerable changes in the expression of GABA(A) receptor subunits in the hippocampus. Using immunocytochemistry, we investigated the expression of GABA(A) receptor subunits alpha1, alpha3, beta1-3, and gamma2 in hippocampal specimens obtained at surgery from TLE patients with and without hippocampal sclerosis and in autopsy controls.