Regional distribution of thiamin pyrophosphokinase in rat brain

The highest specific activity of thiamin pyrophosphokinase was found in the cerebellum, and lower activity in cerebral cortex and midbrain. The regional difference in the enzyme activity was similar to that in thiamin content and the influx rate in rat brain, suggesting that the enzyme is involved in the thiamin transport.     

Transketolase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activities in the brain and liver of the developing rat

Summary Rat brain transketolase showed little change in activity from birth to adulthood, whereas the liver enzyme activity increased in a biphasic way. In both brain and liver, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity increased gradually after birth and reached a plateau at 5 weeks of age. A developmental change in thiamin content in the brain was similar to the change in the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity, but this was not the case in the liver.     

Regional distribution of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes in adult rat brain.

The highest lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity was found in thalamus, statistically significantly less in cerebral and cerebellar cortex and the lowest in pons. LDH1 and LDH4+5 represented 58% and 23% of the total activity in cerebral cortex, 54% and 20% in thalamus, 42% and 4% in cerebellar cortex and 55% and 7% in pons, respectively.     

Regional and subcellular distribution of superoxide dismutase in brain

Summary Superoxide dismutase has been found to be widely distributed and of approximately the same specific activity in all regions of human brain examined. It is not reduced during degeneration of the basal ganglia in Huntington's Chorea. After subcellular fractionation of human and guinea-pig cerebral cortex, the highest specific activity of the enzyme was found in the soluble fraction.Acknowledgments. We thank the Huntington's Chorea Foundation for financial support. Address reprint requests to the Neurochemistry Lab., V. A. Hospital, Seattle, Wash. 98108, USA.     

Regional distribution of adenine nucleotides,glycogen, glucose and lactate in the adult rat brain

Résumé Le cervelet contient des quantités plus grandes d'ATP, d'ADP et de nucléotides totaux que le lobe frontal du cerveau ou la moelle cervicale. Ces différences ne sont pas trouvées avec l'AMP. Le contenu en glycogène, en glucose et en lactate est plus grand dans la moelle cervicale que dans le cervelet et dans le lobe frontal.

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We wish to thank Dr.H. Rehkämper from Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, who kindly supplied us with all the enzymes, substrates and cofactors.     

Topographical distribution of ATP in rat brain

Summary Studies on the distribution of ATP in microdissected segments of the rat brain indicate that the nucleotide is concentrated in gray matter, and especially in the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and sensorimotor cortex. These distribution studies in conjuction with previous neuropharmacological studies, support the concept that adenine nucleotides may function as intercellular mediators in various regions of the brain.     

Regional and subcellular distribution of superoxide dismutase in brain.

Superoxide dismutase has been found to be widely distributed and of approximately the same specific activity in all regions of human brain examined. It is not reduced during degeneration of the basal ganglia in Huntington's Chorea. After subcellular fractionation of human and guinea-pig cerebral cortex, the highest specific activity of the enzyme was found in the soluble fraction.     

Topographical distribution of ATP in rat brain.

Studies on the distribution of ATP in microdissected segments of the rat brain indicate that the nucleotide is concentrated in gray matter, and especially in the thalamus, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and sensorimotor cortex. These distribution studies in conjunction with previous neuropharmacological studies, support the concept that adenine nucleotides may function as intercellular mediators in various regions of the brain.     

Differential distribution of TASK-1, TASK-2 and TASK-3 immunoreactivities in the rat and human cerebellum

In this work, the distributions of some acid-sensitive two-pore-domain K⁺ channels (TASK-1, TASK-2 and TASK-3) were investigated in the rat and human cerebellum. Astrocytes situated in rat cerebellar tissue sections were positive for TASK-2 channels. Purkinje cells were strongly stained and granule cells and astrocytes were moderately positive for TASK-3. Astrocytes isolated from the hippocampus, cerebellum and cochlear nucleus expressed TASK channels in a primary tissue culture. Our results suggest that TASK channel expression may be significant in the endoplasmic reticulum of the astrocytes. The human cerebellum showed weak TASK-2 immunolabelling. The pia mater, astrocytes, Purkinje and granule cells demonstrated strong TASK-1 and TASK-3 positivities. The TASK-3 labelling was stronger in general, but it was particularly intense in the Purkinje cells and pia mater.Received 25 February 2004; received after revision 19 April 2004; accepted 28 April 2004     

The subcellular distribution of lysergic acid diethylamide in the rat brain

Résumé Quinze min après une injection i.p. de LSD, près de 48% de la drogue présente dans le cerveau fut trouvée dans le surnageant, 20% dans la fraction nucléaire, 15% dans la fraction synaptosomale, 6% dans la fraction microsomale, 5% dans la fraction myélinique et près de 1,7% dans la fraction mitochondriale. Les fractions synaptosomale et mitochondriale sont presque saturées en LSD lors d'une injection de 10 mg/kg de LSD.

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Acknowledgment. I thank Dr.J. Knopp for his help with the spectrophotoflourometric analysis.     

Involvement of D-amino acid oxidase in elimination of D-serine in mouse brain

The physiological role of D-amino acid oxidase (EC 1. 4. 3. 3) in mouse brain is described. The presence of D-enantiomers of neutral common amino acids was surveyed in the brain. D-serine was shown to be present at high concentration only in regions where the enzyme activity was low. In normal mice whose D-amino acid oxidase activity was much higher in the cerebellum than in the cerebrum, free D-serine content was apparently lower in the cerebellum than in the cerebrum. In mice of a mutant strain lacking D-amino acid-oxidase activity, the free D-serine level was remarkably high both in the cerebrum and cerebellum. The results suggest that the enzyme is involved in the elimination of free D-serine in the cerebellum.     

Regional cyclic AMP levels in homogenates of rat brain after ketalar and trifluoperazine

There was a significant fall in cAMP levels after administration of TFP or ketalar. Different amounts of cAMP were present in different regions of rat brain. Concentrations of cAMP in different regions of the rat brain were found to decrease in the following order: cerebrum > thalamus with hypothalamus > midbrain > hippocampus > cerebral cortex.     

Regional cyclic AMP levels in homogenates of rat brain after ketalar and trifluoperazine

Summary There was a significant fall in cAMP levels after administration of TFP or ketalar. Different amounts of cAMP were present in different regions of rat brain. Concentrations of cAMP in different regions of the rat brain were found to decrease in the following order: cerebrum > thalamus with hypothalamus > midbrain > hippocampus > cerebral cortex.Conducted under ocntract No 10.4.2 with the Polish Academy of Science.     

Regional distribution of pancreatic polypeptide cells in the 21-day fetal rat pancreas

Summary 21-day fetal rat pancreata were stained with the unlabeled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique using bovine pancreatic polypeptide as the primary antibody. Total counts of pancreatic polypeptide cells were made over the entire pancreas. It was found that the head region contained the greatest number of pancreatic polypeptide cells with the body next and the tail having the smallest number. The pancreatic polypeptide cells of the body were concentrated in the portion closest to the distal duodenum. This distribution pattern seems to support the suggested role of pancreatic polypeptide on the physiological function of the digestive tract.The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr R. McEvoy, T. Whittlsey, G. Wassilchenko and D. Wilson for their assistance in this study. To whom reprint requests should be addressed.     

Effect of stress on choline acetyltransferase activity of the brain and the adrenal of the rat

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was determined in cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, midbrain and adrenal gland of rats exposed to acute or chronic stress. The exposure of animals to acute immobilization and cold stress (4°C) for one hour resulted in a significant decline of ChAT activity in all brain regions examined except for the medulla oblongata. Moreover, the exposure to acute stress resulted in significant increase of the same enzyme in the adrenal gland. However, chronic exposure of animals to cold stress (4°C) for 7 days resulted in no significant changes of ChAT activity in all tissues examined except for a decline in the midbrain and an increase in the medulla oblongata. The administration of corticosterone (2.0 mg/kg) 1 h prior to sacrificing caused an effect similar to that of acute stress on ChAT activity in all brain regions except for the hypothalamus and the cerebellum. It was concluded from this experiment that stress-induced changes in the ChAT activity of specific brain regions might be mediated by the adrenal steroids.This work was supported by a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NSG 2183 and NAG 2-411), a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH RR 0811) and a grant from the Division of Research Resources (NIH grant RR 03020).