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Expression of platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) and PDGF receptor genes in the developing rat brain
Author(s) -
Reddy U. R.,
Pleasure D.
Publication year - 1992
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/jnr.490310411
Subject(s) - platelet derived growth factor receptor , platelet derived growth factor , growth factor , gene , receptor , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , cancer research , neuroscience , genetics
Steady‐state levels of rat central nervous system (CNS) platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) A‐ and B‐chain mRNAs were measured by a polymerase chain reaction method employing a synthetic gene internal standard, and the rates of transcription of PDGF A‐ and B‐chain genes in CNS were estimated by a nuclear runoff assay. The abundance of PDGF B‐chain mRNA was an order of magnitude below that of PDGF A‐chain mRNA, while the rate of PDGF B‐chain transcription was only slightly below that for the PDGF A‐chain gene, indicating that the half‐life of PDGF B‐chain in CNS is shorter than that of PDGF A‐chain mRNA. No developmental alterations in expression of the PDGF A‐ and B‐chain genes were detected. By contrast, Northern blots showed that steady‐state levels of mRNAs encoding the two PDGF receptor proteins, α and β, were markedly higher in embryonic day 15 and postnatal day 6 rat brains than in later life. These results suggest that the actions of PDGF on the brain in vivo are regulated not at the level of PDGF A and B‐chain gene expression, but rather by changes in the level of expression of PDGF α‐ and β‐receptor genes.