Altered expression of the small guanosine triphosphatase RhoA in human temporal lobe epilepsy

The small guanosine triphosphatase RhoA has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of epilepsy in animals. In this study, we investigated the expression of RhoA in human epilepsy. Brain tissue samples from 40 patients with intractable epilepsy and 14 histologically normal temporal lobes from control patients were used to compare RhoA immunoreactivity using immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescent staining, and western blotting. Immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis showed that RhoA immunoreactivity was increased in the patient group (p < 0.05). Immunofluorescent staining showed that RhoA was mainly expressed on cell membranes and in the cytoplasm. Our findings demonstrate that upregulation of RhoA immunoreactivity occurs in the brains of patients with intractable epilepsy.