Differential Na+ channel β1 subunit mRNA expression in stellate and flat astrocytes cultured from rat cortex and cerebellum: A combined in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry study
✍ Scribed by Dr. Youngsuk Oh; Dr. Stephen G. Waxman
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1995
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 955 KB
- Volume
- 13
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0894-1491
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✦ Synopsis
Astrocytes have been shown to express voltage-sensitive Na+ channels, but the molecular structure of these channels is not yet known. Recent studies have demonstrated the expression of rat brain voltage-sensitive Na+ channel mRNAs in astrocytes. In this study, we used a combined non-radioactive in situ hybridization/ immunocytochemistry method to investigate the expression of voltage-sensitive Na+ channel p l subunit (Naf31) mRNA in definitively identified, GFAP-positive astrocytes cultured from two different regions of the rat brain, cerebrum and cerebellum. In general, two morphologically distinct types of GFAP-positive astrocytes were observed in culture: flat, fibroblast-like and stellate, process-bearing. We observed a differential expression of Nap1 mRNA in GFAP-positive astrocytes: 1) stellate astrocytes expressed Nap1 mRNA, although the level of Nap1 mRNA expression was variable, and 2) flat astrocytes generally did not express Nap1 mRNA. Moreover, Bergmann-like cells from cerebellum did not express Nap1 mRNA, while the granule cells associated with Bergmann-like cell expressed Nap1 mRNA. These observations indicate that Nap1 mRNA is differentially expressed in rat astrocytes with various morphologies in vitro. o 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.