title: Unchanged expression of the ceramide transfer protein in the acute 6-OHDA neurodegenerative model.
abstract: Ceramides are lipids that are abundant in brain tissue where they have an important structural role in cellular membranes. Ceramides are also powerful intracellular signalling molecules controlling cell death, growth and differentiation. So far, the ceramide transfer protein (CERT), a shorter splice variant of the Goodpasture antigen-binding protein (GPBP), is the only known protein with the ability to shuttle ceramide from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus. GPBP/CERT are widely distributed in the central nervous system where they act as key factors for normal brain development and homeostasis. Ceramide accumulates in neurons during acute neurodegeneration. The objective of this study was to define whether levels of the ceramide transfer protein GPBP/CERT are altered in the acute neurodegenerative process. We used design-based stereology to quantify the number of GPBP/CERT immunoreactive cells in the striatum of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesioned rats as an animal model of Parkinson's disease (PD). In addition, gray value measurement was performed to quantify GPBP/CERT immunoreactivity-levels within individual cells. No difference in the striatal expression levels of GPBP/CERT proteins was found between diseased and control animals, suggesting that the expression pattern of GPBP/CERT in the striatum is not affected in the 6-OHDA rat model of PD.
authors: Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors: Chiara
authors: C
authors: Mencarelli
authors: Gerard H
authors: GH
authors: Bode
authors: Rinske
authors: R
authors: Vlamings
authors: Marcus L F
authors: ML
authors: Janssen
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Losen
authors: Marc H
authors: MH
authors: De Baets
authors: Harry W M
authors: HW
authors: Steinbusch
authors: Yasin
authors: Y
authors: Temel
authors: Pilar
authors: P
authors: Martinez-Martinez
mesh_terms: D018663:Adrenergic Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002452:Cell Count; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016627:Oxidopamine / Q000633:toxicity; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018663:Adrenergic Agents; D016627:Oxidopamine; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; C545703:Cert1 protein, rat; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases