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Distribution of Equilibrative, Nitrobenzylthioinosine‐Sensitive Nucleoside Transporters (ENT1) in Brain
Author(s) -
Anderson Christopher M.,
Xiong Wei,
Geiger Jonathan D.,
Young James D.,
Cass Carol E.,
Baldwin Stephen A.,
Parkinson Fiona E.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1999.0730867.x
Subject(s) - nucleoside , in situ hybridization , biology , northern blot , nucleoside transporter , dentate gyrus , adenosine , cerebellum , messenger rna , microbiology and biotechnology , transporter , hippocampus , biochemistry , gene , neuroscience
: Nucleoside transport processes may play a role in regulating endogenous levels of the inhibitory neuromodulator adenosine in brain. The cDNAs encoding species homologues of one member of the equilibrative nucleoside transporter (ENT) gene family have recently been isolated from rat (rENT1) and human (hENT1) tissues. The current study used RT‐PCR, northern blot, in situ hybridization, and [ 3 H]nitrobenzylthioinosine autoradiography to determine the distribution of mRNA and protein for ENT1 in rat and human brain. Northern blot analysis indicated that hENT1 mRNA is widely distributed in adult human brain. 35 S‐labeled sense and antisense riboprobes, transcribed from a 153‐bp segment of rENT1, were hybridized to fresh frozen coronal sections from adult rat brain and revealed widespread rENT1 mRNA in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, granule neurons of the dentate gyrus, Purkinje and granule neurons of the cerebellum, and cortical and striatal neurons. Regional localization in rat brain was confirmed by RT‐PCR. Thus, ENT1 mRNA has a wide cellular and regional distribution in brain, indicating that this nucleoside transporter subtype may be important in regulating intra‐ and extracellular levels of adenosine in brain.