title: Localization, transport, and uptake of D-aspartate in the rat adrenal and pituitary glands.
abstract: Large amounts of D-aspartate (D-Asp) are present in the rat adrenal and pituitary glands. D-Asp is thought to be synthesized in the mammalian body and also accumulates in various tissues following intraperitoneal or intravenous administration. This report examines the origins of D-Asp in the adrenal and pituitary glands. We administered D-Asp to male rats intraperitoneally and immunolocalized this exogenous D-Asp in adrenal and pituitary tissue, using an anti-D-Asp antiserum which was previously developed in our laboratory. D-Asp levels in the rat adrenal gland have been shown to undergo a transient increase at 3 weeks of age and to decrease rapidly thereafter. We found that in the adrenal gland, exogenous D-Asp administered intraperitoneally was incorporated into the same region of the adrenal cortex in which endogenous D-Asp was present. By Northern and Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry of glutamate (Glu) transporter, we also found that expression of the Glu transporter (GLAST), which has an affinity for D-Asp, transiently increased at 3 weeks of age and that localization patterns of the Glu transporter within the tissue were almost coincident with those of endogenous D-Asp. These observations suggest that D-Asp in the adrenal cortex of 3-week-old male rats is primarily acquired by uptake from the vascular system. We have previously shown that D-Asp is specifically localized in prolactin (PRL)-containing cells in the anterior lobe of the adult rat pituitary gland. Here we report that in the pituitary gland, exogenous D-Asp accumulated in endothelial cells, but not in PRL-containing cells. Northern and Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry of Glu transporter revealed that developmental changes in the Glu transporter (GLAST) expression did not correlate with tissue levels of D-Asp and that the Glu transporter was not expressed in PRL-containing cells. These observations suggest that, in contrast to the adrenal gland, most of the D-Asp in the pituitary gland of adult male rats originates inside the gland itself.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nimura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwatsubo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Homma
mesh_terms: D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D001692:Biological Transport; D004727:Endothelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D001224:Aspartic Acid