Li P, Prasad S S, Mitchell D E, Hachisuka A, Sawada J-I, Al-Housseini A M, Gu Q
Brain Research Center, Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Department of Ophthalmology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Cereb Cortex. 2006 Feb;16(2):291-9. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhi109. Epub 2005 May 18.
This study examined the expression of a neuron-specific cell adhesion molecule, OBCAM (opioid-binding cell adhesion molecule), at both the mRNA and protein levels in the cat primary visual cortex at various postnatal ages, using cDNA array analysis and immunocytochemistry. Results obtained using both methods showed that the expression level of OBCAM was high in young and low in older and adult visual cortex. OBCAM-immunoreactivities were associated predominantly with perikarya and dendrites of pyramidal neurons, and OBCAM-immunopositive neurons were present in all cortical layers. Immunostaining of OBCAM in adult visual cortex showed a reduced number of immunopositive neurons and neurites and relatively lower staining intensities as compared with younger animals. In addition, the number of OBCAM-immunopositive neurons was significantly higher in the visual cortex of 4-month-old animals dark-reared from birth than those in age-matched normally reared animals. These results suggest that OBCAM may play an important role in visual cortex development and plasticity.
本研究采用cDNA阵列分析和免疫细胞化学方法,在不同出生后年龄的猫初级视觉皮层中,从mRNA和蛋白质水平检测了一种神经元特异性细胞粘附分子——阿片样物质结合细胞粘附分子(OBCAM)的表达。两种方法所得结果均显示,OBCAM在幼年视觉皮层中的表达水平较高,而在老年和成年视觉皮层中较低。OBCAM免疫反应主要与锥体细胞的胞体和树突相关,且OBCAM免疫阳性神经元存在于所有皮质层。与幼年动物相比,成年视觉皮层中OBCAM的免疫染色显示免疫阳性神经元和神经突数量减少,染色强度相对较低。此外,从出生起就进行暗饲养的4月龄动物视觉皮层中,OBCAM免疫阳性神经元的数量显著高于年龄匹配的正常饲养动物。这些结果表明,OBCAM可能在视觉皮层发育和可塑性中发挥重要作用。