Co-localization of PKCε with various GABAA receptor subunits in the mouse limbic system

The distribution of PKC epsilon and its co-localization with various GABA(A) receptor subunits within limbic structures of the mouse brain was examined by fluorescence immunohistochemistry. Levels of PKC epsilon immunoreactivity were highest in the cingulate cortex and dentate gyrus, moderate in the nucleus accumbens, and lowest in the prelimbic cortex and basolateral amygdala. Co-localization of PKC epsilon immunoreactivity with the GABA(A) receptor alpha(1), beta(2/3), and gamma(2) subunits varied by subunit and brain region examined, with the majority of co-localization occuring in the dentate gyrus, nucleus accumbens and basolateral amygdala. These results demonstrate that PKC epsilon may interact with GABA(A) receptors in a subunit- and region-specific manner, and provide a potential anatomical basis for recent behavioral and biochemical evidence that PKC epsilon modulates GABA(A) receptor function. NeuroReport 11:683-687 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.