title: Downregulation of water channel aquaporin-4 in rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyeritis induced by myelin basic protein.
abstract: Characteristics of myelin basic protein (MBP)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) include acute edema and infiltration of mononuclear cells (MNCs) in the microvessels of central nervous system (CNS). Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is a water channel protein expressed in astrocytes foot process throughout the CNS. We performed immunostaining, western blotting and semi-quantitative real-time RT-PCR of AQP4 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in CNS from rats immunized with MBP. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that AQP4 is down-regulated in MNCs infiltrated microvessels of rats with EAE. Furthermore, western blotting and real-time RT-PCR analyses showed that AQP4 was significantly decreased at the stage of severe EAE compared with control rats. On the other hand, expression of GFAP-protein was significantly increased after stage of severe EAE. Our findings suggest that AQP4 may be involved in forming edema in the inflammatory lesions of EAE accompanying with up-regulation of reactive astrocyte.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaneyama
authors.forename: Sho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takizawa
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsugane
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takeichi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ehara
authors.forename: Motoki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Chang-Sung
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051401:Aquaporin 4 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004487:Edema / Q000378:metabolism; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007114:Immunization; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: C496032:Aqp4 protein, rat; D051401:Aquaporin 4; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein