Androgen receptor mRNA expression in the human hippocampus

The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in mediating androgen action. Since the hippocampus is a target of steroid modulation, we studied the expression of AR mRNAs in hippocampal tissue specimens from patients undergoing epilepsy surgery (n = 42). AR mRNA expression was in the same order of magnitude than in prostate tissue, known for its high expression of AR. AR mRNA concentrations showed no significant difference in AR mRNA expression between men (49.3 +/- 8.0 arbitrary units (aU); mean +/- SEM) and women (54.3 +/- 11.2 aU) and no sex-specific hippocampal lateralization pattern was observed. No relationship could be detected between duration of epilepsy, individual seizure frequency, age of the patients and the expression levels of AR. The high expression of AR in the hippocampus suggests that this human brain area is an important target for androgen action. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.