title: Expression profile of vesicular nucleotide transporter (VNUT, SLC17A9) in subpopulations of rat dorsal root ganglion neurons.
abstract: ATP plays an important role in the signal transduction between sensory neurons and satellite cells in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs). In primary cultured DRG neurons, ATP is known to be stored in lysosomes via a vesicular nucleotide transporter (VNUT), and to be released into the intercellular space through exocytosis. DRGs consist of large-, medium- and small-sized neurons, which play different roles in sensory transmission, but there is no information on the expression profiles of VNUT in DRG subpopulations. Here, we obtained detailed expression profiles of VNUT in isolated rat DRG tissues. On immunohistochemical analysis, VNUT was found in DRG neurons, and was predominantly expressed by the small- and medium-sized DRG ones, as judged upon visual inspection, and this was compatible with the finding that the number of VNUT-positive DRG neurons in IB4-positive cells was greater than that in NF200-positive ones. These results suggest that VNUT play a role in ATP accumulation in DRG neurons, especially in small- and medium-sized ones, and might be involved in ATP-mediated nociceptive signaling in DRGs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biochemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Nakauchi-cho, Misasagi, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8414, Japan.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biochemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Nakauchi-cho, Misasagi, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8414, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biochemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Nakauchi-cho, Misasagi, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8414, Japan.
authors.forename: Kanako
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawamori
authors.affiliation: Department of Membrane Biochemistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biochemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Nakauchi-cho, Misasagi, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8414, Japan. Electronic address: nagasawa@mb.kyoto-phu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagasawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008297:Male; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D033704:Nucleotide Transport Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D033704:Nucleotide Transport Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C000595299:Slc17a9 protein, rat; C051774:neurofilament protein H
keywords: ATP; Dorsal root ganglion; SLC17A9; Vesicular nucleotide transporter