title: Expression of keratin 10 in rat organ surface primo-vascular tissues.
abstract: The primo-vascular system is described as the anatomical structure corresponding to acupuncture meridians and has been identified in several tissues in the body, but its detailed anatomy and physiology are not well understood. Recently, the presence of keratin 10 (Krt10) in primo-vascular tissue was reported, but this finding has not yet been confirmed. In this study, we compared Krt10 expression in primo-vascular tissues located on the surface of rat abdominal organs with Krt10 expression on blood and lymphatic vessels. Krt10 protein (approximately 56.5 kDa) was evaluated by western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Krt10 (IR) in the primo-node was visualized as patchy spots around each cell or as a follicle-like structure containing a group of cells. Krt10 IR was also identified in vascular and lymphatic tissues, but its distribution was diffuse over the extracellular matrix of the vessels. Thus Krt10 protein was expressed in all three tissues tested, but the expression pattern of Krt10 in primo-vascular tissue differed from those of blood and lymphatic vascular tissues, suggesting that structural and the regulatory roles of Krt10 in primo-vascular system are different from those in blood and lymphatic vessels.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute fo Veterinary Science, Seoul National University, Korea.
authors.forename: So Rim
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seul Ki
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Soo Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Jae-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Byung-Cheon
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: In Koo
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: So Yeong
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Pan Dong
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000098:blood supply; D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D005109:Extracellular Matrix; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053550:Keratin-10 / Q000378:metabolism*; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D016740:Meridians; D008643:Mesentery / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014781:Viscera / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D053550:Keratin-10