Higher expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 and its receptor in brain tissue of intractable epilepsy patients

•Higher levels of MCP1 and CCR2 are observed in patients with IE.•Levels of MCP1 and CCR2 in IE patients with HS are related with course of disease.•Levels of MCP1 and CCR2 in IE patients without HS are not linked with disease course.•Levels of MCP1 and CCR2 in IE patients are not related with age.

We aimed to explore the pathogenesis of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) and CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) in brain tissue of patients with intractable epilepsy (IE). Hippocampi or temporal lobe tissues were obtained from 40 patients with IE and five patients without IE who had undergone surgical decompression and debridement. The levels of MCP1 and CCR2 were evaluated using immunohistochemistry. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to evaluate the correlation between levels of MCP1 and CCR2 in IE with or without hippocampal sclerosis (HS) and the disease duration, along with age. Higher levels of MCP1 (11.68 ± 4.68% versus 1.72 ± 1.54%) and CCR2 (11.54 ± 4.65% versus 1.52 ± 1.29%; P < 0.05) were observed in IE patients compared to controls. Expression levels of MCP1 (R = 0.867) and CCR2 (R = 0.835) in IE patients with HS were correlated with the disease duration. However, no correlation was found in IE patients without HS. There was also no correlation between levels of MCP1 and CCR2 in IE patients with age, either with HS or without HS. These results suggest that MCP1 and its receptor may play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of IE.