title: Expression of beta 1-4 N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase gene in the developing rat brain and retina: mRNA, protein immunoreactivity and enzyme activity.
abstract: The developmental pattern of expression of the UDP-GalNAc:GM3 N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GalNAc-T) gene was examined in the rat brain and retina. A GalNAc-T cDNA cloned from a rat olfactory bulb cDNA library was used as a probe for Northern blot and in situ hybridization experiments and a rabbit polyclonal antibody to rat GalNAc-T peptide was used for Western blot analysis. In Northern blot experiments, a single approximately 3 kb transcript was detected both in brain and retina. In brain, the abundance of this transcript increased from E15 to PN1-5 and then declined while, in retina, it increased steadily from PN1 to PN13-24. The developmental trends of GalNAc-T mRNA expression, GalNAc-T immunoreactive protein and GalNAc-T activity were comparable in brain. In retina, however, GalNAc-T activity and GalNAc-T peptide immunoreactivity followed developmental patterns that were similar between them and different from that of the specific mRNA. Results suggest that post-transcriptional controls of the GalNAc-T gene expression operate in the rat CNS, which are particularly evident in retina. The expression of the GalNAc-T gene in glial and neuronal cells was examined in rat retina cell cultures by in situ hybridization. The GalNAc-T mRNA was abundant in GM1+/GD3+ neurons and almost absent in the flat, GM1-/GD3+ Müller glia-derived cells.
authors.affiliation: CIQUIBIC (UNC-CONICET), Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Daniotti
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Rosales Fritz
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martina
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Maccioni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases; C023220:(N-acetylneuraminyl)-galactosylglucosylceramide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase