title: Expression of transferrin binding protein in the capillaries of the brain in the developing chick embryo.
abstract: Transferrin-binding protein (TfBP) has been shown to be a novel protein, structurally related to the chicken heat shock protein 108. The physiological function of this protein, however, has not yet been established. Antiserum to TfBP selectively stains transferrin- and iron-rich oligodendrocytes and choroidal epithelium in the adult and embryonic chick brain, suggesting a role for this protein in transferrin and iron storage in these cells. In this study, we further demonstrate TfBP-immunoreactivity (IR) in the blood vessels of the embryonic chick central nervous system. A strong TfBP-IR was present in blood vessels from E6, declined from E10 and was absent by E18. Thus, the expression of the TfBP in the blood vessels precedes its expression in the oligodendrocytes. At the subcellular level, TfBP-IR was confined to the cytoplasm of capillary pericytes while the Tf-receptor IR was associated with the capillary endothelium of the brain. The up-regulated expression of TfBP, together with the Tf-receptor of the brain capillaries, suggests that pericytes may be associated with the high iron uptake required for the metabolic demands of the developing brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, 301-131, South Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Woon
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ha Na
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Kyung Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Woo-Mi
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Kisang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Gye Sun
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Young Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chun Kee
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Sa Sun
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002196:Capillaries / Q000378:metabolism*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D033863:Transferrin-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D033863:Transferrin-Binding Proteins