title: Expression of the tuberous sclerosis complex gene products, hamartin and tuberin, in central nervous system tissues.
abstract: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a common genetic disorder in which affected individuals can develop mental retardation, developmental brain defects, and seizures. Two genetic loci are responsible for TSC: TSC1 on chromosome 9q and TSC2 on chromosome 16p. Here, we report our analysis of TSC1 (hamartin) and TSC2 (tuberin) protein expression in the central nervous system (CNS). Both tuberin and hamartin are expressed in neurons and astrocytes where they physically interact. In the mouse cerebellum in vivo, tuberin predominantly localizes to the perinuclear region of the Purkinje cell, whereas hamartin is distributed along neuronal or astrocytic processes. In contrast, both hamartin and tuberin demonstrate similar neuronal expression patterns in pure neuronal cultures in vitro. Additionally, hamartin is highly expressed in astrocytes in mixed neuron-glia cultures in vitro, suggesting that hamartin may be important for astrocyte growth control. Unlike tuberin, loss of hamartin expression was not observed in sporadic astrocytomas. These results suggest that tuberin and hamartin may differentially contribute to the CNS pathology in TSC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, Box 8111, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. gutmannd@neuro.wustl.edu
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Gutmann
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hasbani
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Plank
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Petri Henske
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001254:Astrocytoma; D001932:Brain Neoplasms; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D014402:Tuberous Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D000077004:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 1 Protein; D000077005:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C000624650:TSC1 protein, human; C000624653:TSC2 protein, human; C000624651:Tsc1 protein, mouse; C000624654:Tsc2 protein, mouse; D000077004:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 1 Protein; D000077005:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins