title: Osteocalcin- and osteopontin-containing neurons in the rat hind brain.
abstract: Immunohistochemistry for osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OPN) was performed to know their distributions in the hind brain of adult rats. OC- and OPN-immunoreactivity (-ir) were detected in neuronal cell bodies, including perikarya and proximal dendrites and the neuropil. In the cranial nerve motor nuclei, numerous OC- and OPN-immunoreactive (-ir) neurons were detected. The neuropil in the cranial motor nuclei mostly showed strong OC- and OPN-staining intensity. The cranial nerve sensory nuclei and other relay and modulating structures in the lower brain stem also contained various numbers of OC- and OPN-ir neurons. The staining intensities in the neuropil were varied among these regions. In the cerebellar cortex, Purkinje cells and granule cells showed OPN-ir but not OC-ir. However, OC- and OPN-ir neurons were abundantly distributed throughout the cerebellar nuclei. The neuropil in the cerebellar nuclei showed moderate OC-ir and strong OPN-ir staining intensities. These findings indicate that the distribution patterns of OC- and OPN-ir neurons were similar in many structures within the hind brain. OC may play a role in modulating neuroprotective function of OPN.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral and Craniofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Dentistry, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Tadasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D015675:Osteocalcin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D053495:Osteopontin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012249:Rhombencephalon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C506897:Spp1 protein, rat; D015675:Osteocalcin; D053495:Osteopontin