title: Cellular distribution of gamma-secretase subunit nicastrin in the developing and adult rat brains.
abstract: Nicastrin and presenilin 1 are integral components of the high molecular weight gamma-secretase complexes that regulate proteolytic processing of various type I membrane proteins including amyloid precursor protein and Notch. At present, there is little information regarding the cellular distribution of nicastrin in the developing or adult rat brain. We report here, using immunoblotting and immunohistochemical methods, that nicastrin in the adult rat brain is widely expressed and co-localized with presenilin 1 in select neuronal populations within all major areas, including the basal forebrain, striatum, cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebellum and brainstem. We also observed dense neuropil labeling in many regions in the brain, suggesting that nicastrin gets transported to dendrites and/or axon terminals in the central nervous system. The levels of nicastrin are found to be relatively high at the early stages of postnatal development and then declined gradually to reach the adult profile. At the cellular level, nicastrin is localized predominantly in neuronal cell bodies at early postnatal stages, but is apparent both in cell bodies and dendrites/neuropil in all brain regions at the later stages. The regulation of nicastrin expression and localization during development and its distribution in a wide spectrum of neurons in the postnatal and adult rat brains provide an anatomical basis to suggest a multifunctional role for the gamma-secretase complex in the developing and adult rat brains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kodam
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Vetrivel
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thinakaran
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kar
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology*; D053764:Presenilin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D053764:Presenilin-1; C413604:nicastrin protein; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases