Analysis of dynamin isoforms in mammalian brain: dynamin-1 expression is spatially and temporally regulated during postnatal development.

In adult rat brain, the microtubule-associated protein dynamin is composed of a closely spaced polypeptide doublet of approximately 100 kDa. Using an antibody preparation that is monospecific for dynamin-1 (the higher molecular mass isoform) we examined the temporal and regional expression of dynamin-1 in developing rat brain. Analysis of whole rat brain homogenates established that prior to postnatal day 9, dynamin-1 was present only at very low levels and thereafter its expression steadily increased with adult levels being attained by postnatal day 23. In individual regions of the brain, dynamin-1 levels were highest in cortex, amygdala, and striatum, significantly lower in olfactory bulb, cerebellum, and midbrain, and lowest in brainstem. During postnatal development, each of the regions exhibited approximately the same time course of protein expression except for a slight lag in expression in olfactory bulb. The spatial and temporal patterns of expression of dynamin-1 correlate with the establishment and/or maintenance of mature neuronal structure and function rather than dendritic or axonal outgrowth.