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Calpain expression varies among different rat and bovine central nervous system regions
Author(s) -
Shields Donald C.,
Ray Swapan K.,
GanttWilford Gloria,
Banik Naren L.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4547(19980815)53:4<482::aid-jnr10>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - calpastatin , calpain , central nervous system , spinal cord , biology , white matter , gene isoform , cerebral cortex , gene expression , microbiology and biotechnology , northern blot , endocrinology , neuroscience , gene , genetics , biochemistry , medicine , enzyme , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging
Calcium‐activated neutral proteinase (calpain) is a ubiquitous, cytosolic endopeptidase which is believed to play a role in many neural functions. In the present study, we examined the transcriptional and translational expression of microcalpain (μcalpain) and millicalpain (mcalpain) isoforms and the endogenous inhibitor calpastatin in rat and bovine spinal cord, brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex tissues using reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and Western blotting. In rat central nervous system (CNS) samples, the μcalpain and mcalpain transcriptional expression was highest in white matter‐enriched areas. Calpastatin mRNA expression demonstrated no significant differences among the CNS areas. Calpain and calpastatin translational expression levels were greatest in the spinal cord. In bovine CNS, μcalpain transcriptional expression was greatest in the spinal cord, while other CNS regions showed no significant differences. Bovine mcalpain transcriptional expression was similar among various CNS regions but marginally greater in the cortex. Translational expression of bovine calpain was greatest in the brain stem, while that of calpastatin was highest in the cerebral cortex. These results indicate that calpain expression varies among different CNS regions and is often highest in white matter‐enriched areas. J. Neurosci. Res. 53:482–489, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.