title: High expression of Bcl-x protein in the developing human cerebellar cortex.
abstract: The gene bcl-x, which is related to a bcl-2, regulates programmed cell death. bcl-x may function in the development of the nervous system. We raised a polyclonal antibody against human Bcl-x protein, and investigated its distribution in the developing human cerebellum. Western blotting revealed that Bcl-x expression in the cerebellum is higher in the fetal, than in the postnatal period. Immunohistochemical studies of fetal brains localized intense Bcl-x immunoreactivity in the granule cell processes at 13-22 gestational weeks and in the Purkinje cell bodies at 24-38 weeks. The immunoreactivity decreased after birth, but was retained in the Purkinje cells at a low level until adulthood. These results suggested that Bcl-x expression in the cerebellum is developmentally regulated and involved specifically in the development of neuronal subpopulations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Retardation and Birth Defect Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sohma
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizuguchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000378:metabolism; D051020:bcl-X Protein
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; C494811:BCL2L1 protein, human; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D051020:bcl-X Protein