Microglial Response Factor (MRF)-1: Constitutive Expression in Ramified Microglia and Upregulation upon Neuronal Death Induced by Ischemia or Glutamate Exposure.
We have isolated a new microglial gene, mrf-1, which is upregulated on microglia in response to apoptosis of granule neurons in cerebellar cell cultures. We examined whether or not upregulation of MRF-1 is observed in response to necrotic neuronal death both in vivo and in vitro. Though MRF-1 was detected on ramified/resting microglia in the brain of normal adult rats, activated microglia in the region of the brain where neuronal damage was induced by ischemia were strongly immunostained with anti-MRF-1 anti-body. In the in vitro system, we confirmed, with immunocytochemistry or RT-PCR, that MRF-1 or mrf-1 mRNA were constitutively expressed in ramified microglia at significant but lower levels than in amoeboid one. Moreover, by Northern blot, it was ascertained that expression level of mrf-1 mRNA on microglia was markedly upregulated in response to glutamate-induced death of granule cells in a cerebellar cell culture. These results indicate the following: 1) expression of mrf-1 in microglia may be markedly enhanced upon not only apoptotic but also necrotic neuronal death, and 2) MRF-1 is, thus, an useful marker for identifying all types of microglia in vivo and in vitro.
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Tanaka
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Kato
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Koike