title: Expression of ectonucleotidases in the prosencephalon of melatonin-proficient C3H and melatonin-deficient C57Bl mice: spatial distribution and time-dependent changes.
abstract: Extracellular purines (ATP, ADP, AMP and adenosine) are important signaling molecules in the CNS. Levels of extracellular purines are regulated by enzymes located at the cell surface referred to as ectonucleotidases. Time-dependent changes in their expression could profoundly influence the availability of extracellular purines and thereby purinergic signaling. Using radioactive in situ hybridization, we analyzed the mRNA distribution of the enzymes NTPDase1, -2 and -3 and ecto-5'-nucleotidase in the prosencephalon of two mouse strains: melatonin-proficient C3H and melatonin-deficient C57Bl. The mRNAs of these enzymes were localized to specific brain regions, such as hippocampus, striatum, medial habenula and ventromedial hypothalamus. NTPDase3 expression was more widely distributed than previously thought. All ectonucleotidases investigated revealed a prominent time-dependent expression pattern. In C3H, the mRNA expression of all four enzymes gradually increased during the day and peaked during the night. In contrast, in C57Bl, ecto-5'-nucleotidase expression peaked at the beginning of the day and gradually decreased to trough levels at night. Recording of locomotor activity revealed higher daytime activity of C57Bl than of C3H. Our results indicate that the expression of ectonucleotidases varies according to time and genotype and suggest that melatonin exerts modulatory effects associated with different regulations of purinergic signaling in the brain. These findings provide an important basis for further examination of the complexity of the purinergic system in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy II, Dr. Senckenbergisches Chronomedizinisches Institut (SCI), Goethe University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Moran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Homola
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy II, Dr. Senckenbergisches Chronomedizinisches Institut (SCI), Goethe University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfeffer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy II, Dr. Senckenbergisches Chronomedizinisches Institut (SCI), Goethe University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Simon C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Robson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy II, Dr. Senckenbergisches Chronomedizinisches Institut (SCI), Goethe University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Korf@em.uni-frankfurt.de.
authors.forename: Horst-Werner
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Korf
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C027201:ectoATPase
keywords: Adenosine; Circadian; Ecto-5′-nucleotidase; NTPDase1-3; Purinergic signaling