Table 3.
mRNA and protein expression of balloon cells (BC) and giant cells (GC) of glutamate and GABA subunit markers.
| Category | Cell marker | BC | GC | Function | Notes and references |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glutamate receptor subunit | GluA1 | ++ | + | Subunit of AMPAR; synaptic plasticity | BC (Oh et al., 2008); Weakly expressed in GC (Talos et al., 2008) |
| GluA2 | + | u | Subunit of AMPAR; synaptic plasticity | Normal expression in BC (Oh et al., 2008); GC (Talos et al., 2008) | |
| GluA3 | ++ | u | Subunit of AMPAR | BC (Oh et al., 2008); GC (Talos et al., 2008) | |
| GluA4 | + | ++ | Subunit of AMPAR; synaptic plasticity | Normal expression in BC (Oh et al., 2008); GC (Talos et al., 2008) | |
| GluN1 | +++ | + | Subunit of NMDAR | BC (Oh et al., 2008); Normal expression in GC (Talos et al., 2008) | |
| GluN2A/B | +++ | + | Subunit of NMDAR | BC (Oh et al., 2008); Weak expression in GC (Talos et al., 2008) | |
| GABA receptor subunit | GABAAR α1 | u | u | Subunit of GABAAR; mature neuronal cell marker | BC/GC (Talos et al., 2012; White et al., 2001) |
| GABAAR α4 | + | + | Subunit of GABAAR; immature neuronal cell marker | Normal expression in BC/GC (Talos et al., 2012) | |
| Transport protein | KCC2 | u | u | Neuron-specific chloride potassium symporter | BC/GC (Talos et al., 2012) |
| NKCC1 | + | + | Na–K–Cl co-transporter in both neuron and glia | BC/GC (Talos et al., 2012) | |
| EAAT2 | + | n | Glial marker; glutamate regulator | BC (Gonzalez-Martinez et al., 2011) | |
| EAAT3 | u | + | Neuronal marker, glutamate regulator | BC (Gonzalez-Martinez et al., 2011) GC (White et al., 2001) |
-: “not expressed” u: “Under expressed”; +: Expressed (may be weakly expressed or normal expression); ++: “Overexpressed”; +++: “Strongly Expressed.”All studies examined human cortical samples. Unless otherwise noted, all studies are immunohistochemical studies of protein expression.