Localization of glucocorticoid receptor messenger ribonucleic acid in hippocampus of rat brain using in situ hybridization

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · Mol. Endocrinol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1210/mend-2-8-682· OSTI ID:6500177

Yang, G; Matocha, M F; Rapoport, S I

An in situ hybridization procedure was applied to quantify glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mRNAs in the hippocampus of rat brain. Hybridization was carried out using a radiolabeled antisense probe complementary to the rat liver GR gene. The specificity of the method was validated by showing: 1) a high cellular grain density in sections hybridized with an antisense but not a sense probe; 2) agreement between the experimental and theoretical temperature at which 50% of the hybrids melted, and 3) a high signal distribution of GR mRNA in the hippocampus, a region of brain known to preferentially concentrate steroid hormones. Within the hippocampus, however, subregional differences in hybridization densities were observed. Quantitative autoradiography indicated that the average neuronal silver grain number was highest in the pyramidal cell layers of CA2 and CA4 and lowest in those of CA1 and CA3. Also, there was a significant difference in the average grain number between all of the cell fields except for that between CA2 and CA4. These results show that contiguous but neuroanatomically distinct cell fields of the hippocampus express different levels of GR transcripts, and indicate that differential regulation of GR expression occurs in subpopulations of hippocampal neurons.

• Research Organization: National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6500177
• Journal Information: Mol. Endocrinol.; (United States), Vol. 2:8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
GLUCOCORTICOIDS
RECEPTORS
MESSENGER-RNA
BIOLOGICAL LOCALIZATION
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
HIPPOCAMPUS
HYBRIDIZATION
NERVE CELLS
PLASMIDS
RADIOISOTOPES
RATS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
ADRENAL HORMONES
ANIMAL CELLS
ANIMALS
BODY
BRAIN
CELL CONSTITUENTS
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
CORTICOSTEROIDS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
KETONES
MAMMALS
MEMBRANE PROTEINS
NERVOUS SYSTEM
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PREGNANES
PROTEINS
RNA
RODENTS
SOMATIC CELLS
STEROIDS
VERTEBRATES
550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques