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Biomedical subjects

C Sternini

Publications and source records attributed to C Sternini.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Species differences in the immunoreactive patterns of calcitonin gene-related peptide in the pancreas.

In the pancreas, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity has been described in nerve fibers and in distinct types of islet cells. This unique, apparently species-specific cell-type expression prompted the present investigation to clarify further the pattern of CGRP immunoreactivity in different mammalian species (i.e., different strains of rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs, pigs, and humans) commonly used for functional and anatomical studies of the pancreas by means of immunohistochemistry using three different CGRP antibodies. In each species, CGRP-immunoreactive neurites innervate the exocrine and endocrine compartments, the vasculature, and the intrapancreatic ganglia, where they form dense networks encircling unstained cell bodies. The only exception is the pig pancreas, where the islets appear to be devoid of immunoreactive fibers. The overall density of immunoreactive pancreatic axons in different species is as follows: rat, mouse, and rabbit greater than guinea pig greater than or equal to pig and cat much greater than dog and human. CGRP-immunoreactive endocrine cells appear to be restricted to the rat pancreas, where they form a subpopulation of somatostatin-containing D cells. In contrast, in mouse, guinea pig, cat, dog, and human pancreas, a homogeneous staining of the core of the islets, where insulin-producing B cells are located, was visualized in sections incubated with the rabbit CGRP antiserum at 4 degrees C, but not at 37 degrees C (an incubation temperature that does not affect the islet cell staining in the rat nor the fiber labeling in any species). Furthermore, the staining of islet B cells was not reproducible with all the CGRP antibodies used, all of which comparably stain nerve fibers in each species, and islet D cells in the rat. Immunoreactive islet cells were not visualized in pig and rabbit pancreas. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the expression of CGRP in nerve fibers is a common feature of mammalian pancreas, whereas its expression in endocrine cells appears to be restricted to the D cells of the rat pancreas.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Transforming growth factor alpha receptor binding sites in the canine gastrointestinal tract.

Transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) interacts with the same plasma membrane receptor as epidermal growth factor and is likely to play a role in proliferative and trophic processes of gastrointestinal tissues. The distribution of receptor binding sites for TGF-alpha was examined in the canine gastrointestinal tract (distal esophagus, stomach fundus, descending duodenum, jejunum, ileum, transverse colon) by tissue section autoradiography. 125I-TGF-alpha yielded a labeling pattern comparable to that of 125I-epidermal growth factor. Specific binding sites were particularly abundant in the mucosa in each region, with the highest concentration in the esophagus, colon, and stomach, as assessed by computer assisted densitometry. The density of binding sites was moderate in the stomach muscularis mucosae, low in the external muscle layer, and very low to undetectable in the submucosa throughout the gastrointestinal tract. In most cases, the greatest density within the individual regions was detected in the area characterized by the highest proliferative rate. Lymphoid aggregates were not labeled. In conclusion, TGF-alpha receptor binding sites are present throughout the gastrointestinal tract with differential patterns in the various regions; they are principally distributed to the mucosa and predominantly located to proliferative cell areas. These results are consistent with a role of this factor in regional regulation of proliferation and differentiation in the gut.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Uremia increases gastric mucosal permeability and acid back-diffusion injury in the rat.

The possibility that chronic uremia renders the gastric mucosa more susceptible to acid injury was investigated. A rat model of chronic renal failure was induced by subtotal nephrectomy. [H+] back-diffusion across the mucosa, following intragastric perfusion of 0.15N HCl or 15% ethanol in 0.15N HCl, was significantly greater in uremic than in sham-operated rats. Gastric mucous gel thickness and transmural potential difference were significantly lower in rats with renal insufficiency. Furthermore, a significantly greater acidification rate of the surface epithelial cells was found in uremic rats than in sham-operated rats during superfusion with pH 1.7 buffer. Intragastric administration of acidified ethanol or aspirin solutions markedly increased gastric mucosal blood flow (68% and 89% respectively) in the sham-operated group producing mild injury, in contrast to uremic rats, where a lesser increase in mucosal blood flow (7% and 14% respectively) was associated with more pronounced mucosal injury. It was concluded that enhanced susceptibility to acid injury in uremia is due to a reduction of function of pre-epithelial, epithelial, and postepithelial elements of the gastric mucosal barrier.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Patterns of innervation of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, neuropeptide Y, and gastrin-releasing peptide immunoreactive nerves in the feline pancreas.

In this study, we performed a detailed analysis of the immunoreactive (IR) patterns and tissue distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) in the feline pancreas by means of immunohistochemical and radioimmunological techniques. Immunoreactivity for each peptide is localized to varicose nerve fibers distributed throughout the exocrine and endocrine pancreas, with some differences in the density and pattern of fiber distribution. In the acinar and stromal compartments, VIP-IR processes have a higher density than NPY- and GRP-containing fibers, the latter being the least abundant. The vasculature receives a particularly prominent NPY innervation, while GRP- and VIP-IR fibers are found occasionally in association with blood vessels. Around ducts, NPY- and VIP-IR nerves are more numerous than those positive for GRP-IR, which are quite sparse. One of the most interesting findings of the present work is the visualization of all peptide-IRs both in neuronal cell bodies and fibers within the intrapancreatic ganglia. VIP-IR is observed in virtually all ganglion cells, while GRP- and NPY-IRs are seen in a few neuronal cells. VIP and NPY tissue levels are much higher than GRP concentrations in all regions of the pancreas. VIP content in the head and body is greater than in the tail. The morphological relationship of VIP-, NPY-, and GRP-IR fibers with different pancreatic structures is consistent with specific peptidergic neural inputs in the regulation of pancreatic functions.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing neurons supplying the rat digestive system: differential distribution and expression pattern.

In the enteric nervous system, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity is localized to a substantial number of capsaicin-sensitive afferent fibers and to intrinsic neurons and processes. CGRP immunoreactivity detected by immunohistochemistry represents the expression of two distinct genes, the calcitonin/alpha-CGRP and the beta-CGRP genes, which have different tissue distributions. In the present study, we used (1) in situ hybridization histochemistry and ribonucleic acid (RNA) blot hybridization with RNA probes complementary to the divergent sequences of alpha- and beta-CGRP messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to differentiate which CGRP gene was expressed in enteric and afferent neurons; and (2) axonal transport approaches in combination with CGRP immunohistochemistry to define the location of CGRP-containing afferent neurons supplying the digestive system. In situ hybridization histochemistry with [35S]-labeled RNA probes indicated that in the gastrointestinal tract beta-CGRP mRNA, but not alpha-CGRP mRNA, was expressed in enteric neurons confined to the myenteric and submucous plexuses of the small and large intestine. In dorsal root and vagal sensory ganglia, mRNAs for alpha-CGRP and beta-CGRP were both present in a vast population of neurons, with an overlapping pattern, even though the alpha-CGRP signal appeared more intense. RNA blot hybridization analysis showed a single band of hybridization at 1.2 Kb with the beta-CGRP RNA probe in RNA extracts from muscle layer-myenteric plexus and submucosal layer preparations of the ileum, and from dorsal root ganglia; it also showed a single band at 1.3 Kb with the alpha-CGRP RNA probe in extracts from dorsal root ganglia, but not from the intestine. These findings further support the differential expression of alpha- and beta-CGRP mRNAs. Retrograde transport of fast blue or fluorogold coupled with CGRP immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the vast majority of CGRP-containing afferent neurons supplying the stomach, proximal duodenum, and pancreas were located in dorsal root ganglia at the middle and lower thoracic and at the upper lumbar levels, and represented a major component of the afferent innervation of these viscera (up to 89%). Approximately 50% of CGRP-immunoreactive afferent neurons also expressed tachykinin (TK) immunoreactivity, as shown by triple labeling. Only a minor component of the afferent innervation of the stomach, duodenum, and pancreas derived from vagal CGRP-containing neurons (less than 8%). A large portion of these neurons (an average of 62%) also contained TK immunoreactivity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1991

Tachykinin and calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivities and mRNAs in the mammalian enteric nervous system and sensory ganglia.

Tachykinins and CGRP label two distinct populations of neurons innervating the digestive system: intrinsic and extrinsic, afferents. The bulk of SP/tachykinin innervation originates from intrinsic neurons, even though a minor component of this innervation derives from afferent neurons, which are mostly located in dorsal root ganglia. Afferent SP/tachykinin fibers are mainly confined to a perivascular location and to the submocosa in the gut, but are distributed also to the hepatobiliary pathway and pancreas. On the contrary, the extrinsic CGRP-containing afferents form a major component of the sensory innervation of the alimentary tract, including the rich CGRP innervation of the esophagus, stomach, hepatobiliary tract, pancreas, and vasculature, as well as a portion of non-vascular fibers distributed to the intestinal wall. Tachykinin and CGRP immunoreactivities appear to be colocalized in a population of nerve fibers, which are likely to be extrinsic, afferent, since colocalization of these peptide immunoreactivities has not been reported in intrinsic neurons. The presence of SP/NKA-encoding transcripts in the enteric nervous system and sensory ganglia and the lack of hybridization signal with RNA probes complementary to NKB mRNA indicate that the PPT I gene, but not the PPT II gene, is transcribed in these structures. This observation, along with receptor binding sites and radioimmunoassay data, which have failed to detect NKB receptor binding sites or immunoreactivity (Eysselein et al., 1990; Maggio, 1988; Mantyh et al., 1988; 1989) in the intestine of several mammals, is consistent with a differential expression of the two PPT genes in the periphery and in the central nervous system (Brecha et al., 1989; Warden and Young, 1988). A differential expression of the tachykinin-encoding genes, the existence of multiple tachykinin receptor subtypes (Mantyh et al., 1988; 1989), and the findings that tachykinins can be differentiated on the basis of the potency of their activities (Galligan et al., 1987; Maggio, 1988), support the possibility that each tachykinin is expressed in separate, and perhaps functionally distinct neuronal systems. alpha- and beta-CGRP genes also are differentially expressed according to the neuronal populations: alpha-CGRP mRNA is the most prominent form in sensory ganglia, and beta-CGRP mRNA is the only form detected in enteric neurons (Mulderry et al., 1988; Sternini and Anderson, 1990). In addition, distinct distributions of mRNAs generated from the two CGRP genes have been reported in the central nervous system (Amara et al., 1985). The differential expression patterns of alpha- and beta-CGRP mRNAs are consistent with a differential regulation of the alpha- and beta-CGRP genes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Evidence that myenteric neurons of the gastric corpus project to both the mucosa and the external muscle: myectomy operations on the canine stomach.

The distribution of nerve cell bodies and fibres in the canine stomach was investigated using antibodies to the general neuronal marker, neuron-specific enolase. Prominent ganglia containing many reactive nerve cells were found in the myenteric plexus of the gastric corpus and antrum. Nerve cells were absent from the submucosa of the corpus and were extremely rare in the antrum. Removal of areas of longitudinal muscle and myenteric plexus from the corpus (myectomy), with 7 days allowed for axon degeneration, resulted in the loss of fibres reactive for galanin, gastrin-releasing peptide, substance P and vasoactive intestinal peptide from both the circular muscle and mucosa in the area covered by the lesion. Combined vagotomy and sympathetic denervation did not significantly affect these fibres, but did cause fibres reactive for calcitonin gene-related peptide to degenerate. It is concluded that the myenteric plexus of the gastric corpus, like the myenteric plexus of the small intestine and colon, is the source of nerve fibres innervating the circular muscle, but, in contrast to other regions of the gastrointestinal tract, myenteric ganglia, not submucous ganglia, are the major, or sole, source of the intrinsic innervation of the mucosa.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity in the mammalian liver: pattern of innervation and coexistence with tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity.

The distribution of nerve fibers displaying neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity in relationship to the catecholaminergic innervation of rat, guinea pig, and rabbit liver was investigated by single- and double-label immunofluorescence methods. In all three species, neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive fibers are prominent in association with the vasculature, biliary pathway, and stromal compartment. The neuropeptide Y innervation of the parenchyma, on the other hand, differs among the three species in term of density. It is quite sparse in the rat and rabbit, particularly in the former species. In the guinea pig liver, numerous single, varicose neuropeptide Y-containing nerve fibers innervate the hepatic parenchyma; often, thin processes surround single hepatocytes and lie close to sinusoids. The immunoreactive pattern of tyrosine hydroxylase, a marker for catecholaminergic neurons and fibers, is comparable to that of neuropeptide Y. Most neuropeptide Y-containing nerve fibers also contain tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity, in all three species, with the exception of the rabbit parenchyma, where a substantial proportion of catecholaminergic fibers lack immunoreactivity for neuropeptide Y. Finally, systemic administration of the sympathetic neurotoxin, 6-hydroxydopamine, in rats and guinea pigs resulted in virtually complete elimination of both neuropeptide Y- and tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive fibers. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that neuropeptide Y-containing nerve fibers form a subpopulation of the sympathetic innervation of the mammalian liver, which is likely to originate from prevertebral sympathetic ganglia.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Cellular distribution of L-glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptor mRNAs in the retina.

1. Gamma-aminobutryic acid (GABA), a major inhibitory transmitter of the vertebrate retina, is synthesized from glutamate by L-glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and mediates neuronal inhibition at GABAA receptors. GAD consists of two distinct molecular forms, GAD65 and GAD67, which have similar distribution patterns in the nervous system (Feldblum et al., 1990; Erlander and Tobin, 1991). GABAA receptors are composed of several distinct polypeptide subunits, of which the GABAA alpha 1 variant has a particularly extensive and widespread distribution in the nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine the cellular localization patterns of GAD and GABAA alpha 1 receptor mRNAs to define GABA- and GABAA receptor-synthesizing neurons in the rat retina. 2. GAD and GABAA alpha 1 mRNAs were localized in retinal neurons by in situ hybridization histochemistry with 35S-labeled antisense RNA probes complementary to GAD67 and GABAA alpha 1 mRNAs. 3. The majority of neurons expressing GAD67 mRNA is located in the proximal inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL). Occasional GAD67 mRNA-containing neurons are present in the inner plexiform layer. Labeled neurons are not found in the distal INL or in the outer nuclear layer (ONL). 4. GABAA alpha 1 mRNA is expressed by neurons distributed to all regions of the INL. Some discretely labeled cells are present in the GCL. Labeled cells are not observed in the ONL. 5. The distribution of GAD67 mRNA demonstrates that numerous amacrine cells (conventional, interstitial, and displaced) and perhaps interplexiform cells synthesize GABA. These cells are likely to employ GABA as a neurotransmitter. 6. The distribution of GABAA alpha 1 mRNA indicates that bipolar, amacrine, and perhaps ganglion cells express GABAA receptors having an alpha 1 polypeptide subunit, suggesting that GABA acts directly upon these cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P decrease in the rabbit colon during colitis. A time study.

The sensory neuropeptides, substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide, have been implicated in inflammatory reactions in several tissues. An immune-complex model of colitis was used in rabbits to determine the colonic content (nmol/g protein) of immunoreactive substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide at various times after induction of inflammation to assess changes in these neuropeptides during the inflammatory response. Calcitonin gene-related peptide content was decreased by 66% 4 hours after induction of inflammation and reached a maximum of 80% at 48 hours. The substance P content was decreased at 8 hours, with a maximum decrease of 64% at 48 hours. Substance P decrease was detected in the muscle layer. The amounts of substance P in the mucosal/submucosal layer extracts were too low to allow accurate measurements. Calcitonin gene-related peptide decreased both in the muscle and the mucosal-submucosal layers. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P innervation patterns were comparable in normal and inflamed colon, even though there appeared to be a decrease in density and intensity of the staining, particularly for calcitonin gene-related peptide at 48 hours. The early decrease of calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P during the time course of colitis might be due to release from nerve terminals of the gut during the inflammatory response. The profound changes in colonic calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P content during colitis may have important implications during inflammation and subsequent tissue repair and may also lead to disturbances in gut motility.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Independent cellular and ontogenetic expression of mRNAs encoding three alpha polypeptides of the rat GABAA receptor.

Previous studies have shown that several distinct but related polypeptides can serve as alpha subunits of functional GABAA receptors. Furthermore, the diversity of these polypeptides at least partially accounts for the functional heterogeneity of GABAA receptors. In this paper, we report the results of in situ hybridization studies using probes derived from our recently reported cDNAs for alpha 1, alpha 2, and alpha 4 GABAA receptor polypeptides. We show that the mRNAs that encode these isoforms have distinct regional and cellular distributions and are present at widely varying levels within the rat brain. In addition, our Northern blot analyses indicate that each of these three alpha mRNAs has a distinct pattern of ontogenetic regulation. Differential regulation of alpha polypeptide isoforms may lead to changes in GABAA receptor function during ontogeny as well as to distinct cellular responses to GABA and GABA-related drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Ultrastructural characterization of calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing fibers and islet cells in the rat pancreas.

Morphology and structural organization of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactive nerve fibers and islet cells in rat pancreas were analyzed with light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Immunoreactive axons innervate exocrine and endocrine parenchyma, but are most abundant in connective tissue septae between pancreatic lobules and within the perivascular space of small arterioles. In the stromal compartment and perivascular space, immunoreactive product is confined to thin, unmyelinated axons, which represent a prominent component of large nerve bundles, composed of numerous, other, unlabeled axons and dendrites. Immunoreactive axons and terminals display multiple varicosities, filled with lucent spherical vesicles (40 nm average diameter), and are often in direct contact with unlabeled dendrites, presumed to arise from intrinsic pancreatic neurons. However, definitive synaptic contacts involving immunoreactive axon terminals were never observed, nor was CGRP immunoreactivity ever detected in neuronal cell bodies within intrapancreatic ganglia. Cellular immunoreactivity is relegated to perikarya at the peripheral margin of each islet of Langerhans, which emit one or more short, thick processes, which often terminate upon fenestrated capillaries. Immunoreaction product in these cells is concentrated in large secretory vesicles (approximately 230 nm diameter), which are dispersed throughout the somata and frequently appear to open into the perivascular space of capillaries. Immunoreactive axons, innervating the islets, are sparse and do not appear to have preferential association with immunoreactive cells. Present findings provide further evidence for a dual role of CGRP in pancreatic functions via a neuronal pathway and hormonal mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Projections of substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive nerve fibres in the canine intestine, with special reference to the innervation of the circular muscle.

Antisera raised against neuron specific enolase (NSE), substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) were used to reveal nerve fibres in the wall of the canine small and large intestine. The circular muscle of the colon was innervated by nerve fibre bundles that ran parallel to the muscle throughout its thickness. A plexus of fibre bundles was found against the inner (submucosal) surface of the circular muscle. Fibres with substance P, VIP and TH immunoreactivity all contributed to this innervation. The circular muscle of the small intestine was distinctly separated into outer and inner layers by a dense plexus of nerve fibres, the deep muscular plexus. The outer and inner circular muscle were innervated by substance P, VIP and TH fibres. Extrinsic denervation through the severing of nerve fibres in the mesentery caused TH fibres in the intestine to degenerate, but had no detectable effect on the fibres with substance P or VIP immunoreactivity. Myectomy (the removal of the myenteric plexus from the full circumference of the intestine over a distance of 2-3 cm), performed 7-13 days before tissue was taken, resulted in an almost complete loss of substance P fibres from the circular muscle of the colon and the outer circular muscle of the small intestine. However, many fibres persisted in the deep muscular plexus of the small intestine, and most fibres remained in its inner circular muscle. The changes in distribution of VIP fibres were almost identical, except that a small proportion of reactive fibres remained in the circular muscle of the colon and the outer circular muscle of the small intestine. It is concluded that the circular muscle layers of the small intestine and colon have dual sources of intrinsic nerve supply: the myenteric ganglia supply fibres primarily to the outer part of the muscle and the submucous ganglia supply fibres to the inner muscle. The present study further demonstrated that VIP fibres ran anally in the myenteric plexus of both the small and large intestine, whereas substance P fibres ran orally in the large intestine and both orally and anally in the small intestine. The innervation of the muscularis mucosae and mucosa by substance P and VIP fibres was not affected by myectomy or extrinsic denervation, and these structures are therefore likely to be innervated by nerve cells in the submucous ganglia.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Peripheral patterns of calcitonin-gene-related peptide general somatic sensory innervation: cutaneous and deep terminations.

The distribution of calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity (IR) was studied in peripheral tissues of rats. The ganglionic origin, somatosensory nature, and anatomic relations of this thin-axon population were evaluated with particular emphasis on possible nociceptive roles. In animals untreated with colchicine, CGRP-IR is found in a vast proportion of small- and medium-diameter sensory ganglion cells that give rise to numerous thinly myelinated and unmyelinated axons that display CGRP-IR throughout the body. The integumentary innervation consists, in part, of an extensive subpapillary network largely traced to dermal blood vessels, sweat glands, and "free" nerve endings, some of which are found within regions containing only mast cells, fibroblasts, and collagen. Dermal papillae contain CGRP-IR axons surrounding each vascular loop; other papillary axons end freely or occasionally surround Meissner corpuscles. Intraepithelial axons enter glabrous epidermal pegs, branching and exhibiting terminals throughout the stratum spinosum. A similar pattern is found in hairy skin with additional innervation entering the base and surrounding the lower third of each hair follicle, but apparently not supplying sebaceous glands and arrector pili muscle. Axons innervating nonkeratinized oral epithelium are similar or greater in number and distribution compared to epidermis, often with more extensive branching. The high density of intraepithelial CGRP-IR innervation does not appear to correlate with the sensitive mechanoreceptor-based increase in spatial sensory discriminative capacities in the distal portions of the limb. In deep somatic tissues, CGRP-IR is principally related to vasculature and motor end plates of striated muscle, but there is an extensive network of thin axons within bone, principally in the periosteum, and focally in joint capsules, but not in relation to muscle spindles or tendon organs. These findings, together with the distribution in cranial tissues described in an accompanying paper (Silverman and Kruger: J. Comp. Neurol. 280:303-330, '89), are considered in the context of a "noceffector" concept incorporating the efferent role of these sensory axons in various tissues. It is suggested that involvement in tissue maintenance and renewal during normal function, as well as following injury, may predominate over the relatively infrequent nociceptive role of this peptidergic sensory system.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Expression of substance P/neurokinin A-encoding preprotachykinin messenger ribonucleic acids in the rat enteric nervous system.

The cellular localization of substance P/neurokinin A-encoding preprotachykinin mRNAs in the rat enteric nervous system was studied by means of in situ hybridization histochemistry using 35S- or 3H-labeled single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) probes which recognize all three preprotachykinin mRNA species, alpha, beta, and gamma. Substance P/neurokinin A-encoding mRNAs are expressed in neurons within the myenteric plexus of the esophagus and stomach, being more numerous in the latter, and in ganglion cells distributed to both the myenteric and submucosal plexuses of the intestine. Specificity of the hybridization was demonstrated by the lack of specific signal above background in sections incubated with a sense RNA probe or pretreated with ribonuclease A before hybridization. Ribonucleic acid blot hybridization analysis of RNA extracts from both the muscle layer-myenteric plexus and submucosal layer preparations of the duodenum demonstrated a single band of hybridization at 1.3 kb. Solution hybridization-nuclease protection assays showed multiple preprotachykinin-encoding transcripts in these RNA extracts, with an abundance level of gamma-mRNA greater than beta-mRNA much greater than alpha-mRNA, which is similar to that observed in the rat brain. Our results indicate that the preprotachykinin gene encoding the tachykinin peptides, substance P and neurokinin A, is transcribed in a population of enteric neurons that have a regional distribution comparable to the previously described tachykinin-like immunoreactive neurons, suggesting that specific mRNAs and the posttranslationally processed peptides are localized in the same structures.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

A novel alpha subunit in rat brain GABAA receptors.

Two cDNAs (alpha 1 and alpha 4) from rat brain cDNA libraries encode isoforms of the alpha subunit of the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor, which differ at 30% of their amino acid residues. Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization histochemistry show that alpha 1 and alpha 4 mRNAs have distinct sizes and distinct regional and cellular distributions in rat brain: both mRNAs are found in the cortex and hippocampus; however, only the alpha 1 mRNA is detected in the cerebellum. We injected RNA transcribed from alpha 1 and alpha 4 cDNAs into Xenopus oocytes, together with an RNA for a rat beta subunit. We obtained GABA-dependent inward currents that were reversibly blocked by picrotoxin. Picrotoxin alone, applied to oocytes producing the alpha and beta polypeptides, elicited an outward current. We suggest that these polypeptides together produce GABA-gated ion channels that can also open spontaneously.

Amino Acid Sequence↗