Connexin36 (Cx36) expression and protein detection in the mouse carotid body and myenteric plexus.
Although connexin36 (Cx36) has been studied in several tissues, it is notable that no data are available on Cx36 expression in the carotid body and the intestine. The present study was undertaken to evaluate using immunohistochemistry, PCR and Western blotting procedures, whether Cx36 was expressed in the mouse carotid body and in the intestine at ileum and colon level. In the carotid body, Cx36 was detected as diffuse punctate immunostaining and as protein by Western blotting and mRNA by RT-PCR. Cx36 punctate immunostaining was also evident in the intestine with localization restricted to the myenteric plexus of both the ileum and the colon, and this detection was also confirmed by Western blotting and RT-PCR. All the data obtained were validated using Cx36 knockout mice. Taken together the present data on localization of Cx36 gap-junctions in two tissues of neural crest-derived neuroendocrine organs may provide an anatomical basis for future functional investigations.
Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Monica
M
Frinchi
Valentina
V
Di Liberto
Sada
S
Turimella
Francesca
F
D'Antoni
Martin
M
Theis
Natale
N
Belluardo
Giuseppa
G
Mudò
D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002344:Carotid Body / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017630:Connexins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein
D017630:Connexins; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein