J Korean Neurol Assoc.  2000 Mar;18(2):199-210.

Neuronal Cytoskeletal Abnormalities and Neurotrophin Receptor Immunoreactivity in Severe Cerebral Cortical Dysplasia

• Kim JY
• Roh JK
• Chung CK

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cerebral cortical dysplasia (CD) is one of the important causes of intractable epilepsies and characterized histologically by disorganized cortical lamination and cytomegalic dysplastic neurons. Although various cytoskeletal abnormalities have been found in dysplastic neurons of CD, the pathogenetic role of dysplastic neurons has rarely been investigated.
METHODS
In this study, immunohistochemical analysis was performed using antibodies against non-phosphorylated high- or medium-molecular weight neurofilament protein and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2) in surgical specimens of CD. In order to know the possible relationship of dysplastic neurons with cytoskeletal abnormalities and various neurotrophin receptors, NGFR p75, trkA, trkB, and trkC immunoreactivities were also analyzed.
RESULTS
Dysplastic neurons showed strong immunoreactivities for non-phosphorylated high- or medium-molecular weight neurofilament protein and MAP-2, which might reflect abnormal outgrowth and altered plasticity of the dysplastic neurons. TrkB and trkC were strongly expressed in dysplastic neurons and NGFR p75 was also strongly expressed in some dysplastic neurons.
CONCLUSIONS
Since it has been known that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) have effects on the differentiation of neuronal precursor cells from the cortex and on dendritic and axonal arborization, increased expression of trkB and trkC may play a role in cytoskeletal abnormalities and altered synaptic transmission in dysplastic neurons.

Keyword

Cortical dysplasia; Cytomegalic neuron; Cytoskeletal protein; Neurotrophin; Receptor

MeSH Terms

Antibodies
Axons
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
Epilepsy
Malformations of Cortical Development*
Microtubule-Associated Proteins
Neurons*
Plastics
Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor
Synaptic Transmission
Antibodies
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
Microtubule-Associated Proteins
Plastics
Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor