Kin protein expression: laminar specificity during rat cerebral cortex development

Somatic DNA recombination in the brain

Possible somatic DNA recombination in the brain has been investigated by attempting to capture direct or indirect evidence of it. Until recently, the biological significance of the DNA event, the genes is involved in the recombination, or even whether the event actually occurs in the brain has remained unclear. The DNA-rearranged locus-oriented approach and the recombination activity-oriented approach have mutually contributed to the elucidation of the biological features of extra-immune system somatic DNA recombination. There have been only 2 loci proposed for the candidate, one is a repetitive sequence and the other DNA recombination is nonrepetitive locus. This review states conventional concepts and discussions chronologically and finally to the newest aspects of DNA rearrangement in the brain.

Somatic DNA recombination in a mouse genomic region, BC-1, in brain and non-brain tissueThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled The Nucleus: A Cell Within A Cell

The genomic region BC-1 (GenBank acc. No. AB075899 ) on mouse chromosome 16 has been reported as a genomic region undergoing somatic DNA recombination producing circular DNA and genomic deletion in brain during late embryogenesis. The present study shows that the BC-1 circular DNA production had already started on the 13th day of embryonic age, earlier than the previous observation that the circular DNA production started on the 15th through 17th embryonic day. The BC-1 deletion was also observed in the spleen and ocular lens. In situ hybridization analysis indicated that a human-homologous region in the BC-1 sequence was expressed in the lens at a perinatal period. These data suggest that the somatic DNA recombination in the BC-1 region is not restricted to brain tissue, and that the BC-1 DNA recombination relates to lens development.

8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase, but not Kin17 protein, is translocated and differentially regulated by estrogens in rat brain cells

8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase and Kin17 are proteins widely distributed and phylogenetically conserved in the CNS. 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase is a DNA repair enzyme that excises 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine present in DNA damaged by oxidative stress. Kin17 protein is involved in DNA repair and illegitimate recombination in eukaryotic cells. The present study evaluates the effect of ovarian hormones on the expression of both proteins in the magnocellular paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in female and male rat brains. In the paraventricular nucleus, ovariectomy induced a significant decrease in the number of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-positive nuclei as well as in their relative fluorescent intensity as compared with ovariectomized-estradiol treated and proestrous groups. Confocal microscopy observation demonstrated that oxoguanine DNA glycosylase protein is located in the Hoechst-dyed nuclei and cytoplasm in male and ovariectomized rats. Surprisingly, following estradiol administration to ovariectomized and proestrous rats, the 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase immunolabeling was observed in the nucleolus, the cytoplasm and the dendrites of cells, while Kin17 protein was always localized in the cell nuclei. In the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the number of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-positive nuclei during proestrous was significantly lower than the number obtained in males and ovariectomized rats and similar to the number of ovariectomized-estradiol-treated groups. In contrast to these observations, no significant differences were observed in the expression of kin17 protein. Our results suggest that estrogens differentially regulate the expression of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase, but not that of Kin17 protein, in specific regions of the rat brain and that estradiol can translocate the 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase protein within nuclei and to other subcellular compartments.

Expression of Kin17 and 8-OxoG DNA glycosylase in cells of rodent and quail central nervous system

Kin17 and 8-Oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (Ogg1) are proteins, respectively, involved in illegitimate recombination and DNA repair in eukaryotic cells. To characterize the expression of these proteins in cell types of rodent and avian brains, we combined immunocytochemistry for either Kin17 or Ogg1 proteins with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, an astrocyte marker) immunodetection on the same tissue section. Both Kin17 and Ogg1 proteins were localized in cell nuclei and were extensively distributed in neuronal populations of quail and rodent brains. However, GFAP-immunoreactive cells were never labeled by Kin17 protein. This was observed in nerve fiber tracts, in the cerebral cortex, the hippocampal formation, the hypothalamic region, and the periventricular regions of the brain of both species studied. These results were confirmed by combining in situ hybridization of kin17 mRNA and GFAP immunodetection. On the contrary, GFAP-immunoreactive cells were often labeled by the Ogg1 protein in brain structures such as fiber tracts, the cortical surface, the cerebellum, and the ependymal surface of both quail and mouse brains. Our results suggest that the expression of the Kin17 protein (observed in neurons) and that of the Ogg1 protein (observed in neurons and glial cells) is conserved in brain phylogeny.

Detection of 8-oxoG DNA glycosylase activity and OGG1 transcripts in the rat CNS

The oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (Ogg1) is a DNA repair enzyme that excises 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine present in DNA damaged by oxidative stress. We have investigated the expression of the OGG1 gene in different regions of the rat CNS. Biochemical studies on brain homogenates of adult rats have shown that Ogg1 nicking activity is present at relatively similar levels in the cerebral cortex, the hypothalamus, the pons and the cerebellum. Following in situ hybridization with radiolabeled OGG1 cDNA or specific antisense oligonucleotides, OGG1 transcripts showed a widespread but heterogeneous distribution pattern among distinct brain regions of adult rats: high levels of this transcript were detected in the CA1-CA3 layers and the gyrus dentate of the hippocampal formation, the piriform cortex, the supraoptic nuclei, the olivary complex as well as in the pyramidal cells of layer V of the cortex and the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. In peripheral organs such as the lungs, the stomach and the spleen, OGG1 transcript is however expressed in specific subpopulations of cells. Using a semi-quantitative reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction assay on total mRNA from the frontal cortex, OGG1 mRNA was determined to be expressed with relatively the same levels in 1-day-old and 7-day-old rats as well as in adult rats. These results provide evidence for the widespread expression of the OGG1 gene in developing and adult brains.