Immunohistochemical localization of GABA B receptor in the entorhinal cortex and inferior temporal cortex of schizophrenic brain

Abstract

Immunocytochemical techniques were employed to examine the changes in immunolabeling of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) B receptor within the entorhinal cortex and inferior temporal isocortex of the schizophrenic brain. In the entorhinal cortex of the control subjects, an intense immunoreactivity was observed in the soma and processes of stellate cells in Layer II, in pyramidal cells in Layers II, III, and V, and in nonpyramidal interneurons. In subjects with schizophrenia, GABA B immunoreactivity was markedly reduced in pyramidal cells throughout the layers. In the inferior temporal cortex of the controls, both pyramidal cells and nonpyramidal interneurons demonstrated an intense immunoreactivity, while in the same region of the schizophrenic brain a marked reduction of the GABA B immunolabeling was observed in pyramidal cells in Layer V. These findings suggest that in the entorhinal cortex and the inferior temporal cortex of the schizophrenic brain, the expression of the GABA B receptor is reduced, and raise the possibility that GABA B receptor dysfunction is involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.