title: Adrenalectomy-induced ZnT3 downregulation in mouse hippocampus is followed by vesicular zinc depletion.
abstract: The effects of adrenalectomy (ADX) on the vesicular zinc content of zinc-enriched (ZEN) terminals in mouse hippocampus were investigated at light microscopic levels using zinc transporter-3 immunohistochemistry (ZnT3IHC) and zinc selenium autometallography (ZnSeAMG). ZnT3 resides in the synaptic vesicle membranes of ZEN neurons and is believed to move zinc ions into the vesicles. ZnT3IHC staining closely corresponds to the ZnSeAMG staining, but in the present study we present evidence of a delayed decrease of ZEN zinc, as compared to downregulation of the ZnT3 protein following ADX. Twenty-four hours after adrenalectomy the level of ZnT3IHC was visibly reduced while the ZnSeAMG staining intensity seemed unchanged. After 10 and 30 days, however, downregulation of ZnT3 was paralleled by a distinct reduction in ZnSeAMG staining. The total protein concentration of ZnT3 was reduced by about 53%, and the total zinc concentration in the hippocampus of the same mice was reduced by 43-64%, 30 days after the adrenalectomy. The present results support previous results suggesting that ZnT3 is responsible for transport of zinc ions into a pool of synaptic vesicles in ZEN terminals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Anatomy, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. swsuh@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Sang Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Seung Mook
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Zsolt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Vajda
authors.forename: Gorm
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Danscher
mesh_terms: D000315:Adrenalectomy / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; C491177:Slc30a3 protein, mouse; D015032:Zinc