Localization of cystatin mRNA in chicken brain by in situ hybridizationR Colella, I Kaplan and GD Mower Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Kentucky. The cystatins are a superfamily of proteins that inhibit the lysosomal cysteine proteinases, cathepsins B, H, and L. Members of this superfamily have been found in all tissues and biological fluids analyzed. Previous studies have shown that chicken cystatin mRNA is abundant in brain tissue. In this study, a definitive localization of chicken cystatin mRNA in chicken brain was determined by in situ hybridization. Chicken cystatin mRNA was heavily concentrated in the secretory epithelial cells of the choroid plexus. The rest of the brain failed to show a hybridization signal above that of the control sense strand probe, even after long exposures. We conclude that chicken cystatin is synthesized predominantly by the specialized secretory epithelial cells of the choroid plexus and secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We postulate that chicken cystatin functions to regulate proteinase activity in the CSF and therefore may function as a protective factor for the cellular elements of the central nervous system.
Volume 42,
Issue 11,
pp. 1487-1491,
11/01/1994
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D.P. Dickinson SALIVARY (SD-TYPE) CYSTATINS: OVER ONE BILLION YEARS IN THE MAKING--BUT TO WHAT PURPOSE? Crit. Rev. Oral. Biol. Med., November 1, 2002; 13(6): 485 - 508. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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