title: Identification and distribution of aspartoacylase in the postnatal rat brain.
abstract: Aspartoacylase metabolizes N-acetylaspartic acid to produce L-aspartate and acetate. An aspartoacylase deficiency in humans is responsible for Canavan disease, a lethal autosomal recessive leukodystrophy. The role of aspartoacylase in the mammalian brain is unclear. Here we have generated and characterized a highly specific polyclonal antibody against aspartoacylase which recognizes a 37 kDa monomer and a dimer in normal but not in aspartoacylase-deficient rat tissue. Aspartoacylase protein expression sharply increases at P14, peaks at P28 and plateaus thereafter. Biochemical analysis reveals immunoreactivity in cytosolic but not in membrane fractions. Histologically, most abundant expression was observed in white matter tracts and thalamus. On the cellular level, aspartoacylase immunoreactivity is restricted to oligodendrocyte somata in both white and gray matter.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. m. klugmann@auckland.ac.nz
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klugmann
authors.forename: C Wymond
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Symes
authors.forename: Bettina K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Klaussner
authors.forename: Claudia B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Leichtlein
authors.forename: Tadao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Serikawa
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: During
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000581:Amidohydrolases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000201:enzymology*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002460:Cell Line; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007668:Kidney; D051379:Mice; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains / Q000378:metabolism; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; D000581:Amidohydrolases; C019751:aspartoacylase