Characterization of mRNA species that are associated with postsynaptic density fraction by gene chip microarray analysis.

We previously reported the partial identification by random sequencing of mRNA species that are associated with the postsynaptic density (PSD) fraction prepared from the rat forebrain [Tian et al., 1999. Mol. Brain Res. 72, 147-157]. We report here further characterization by gene chip analysis of the PSD fraction-associated mRNAs, which were prepared in the presence of RNase inhibitor. We found that mRNAs encoding various postsynaptic proteins, such as channels, receptors for neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, proteins involved in signaling, scaffold and adaptor proteins and cytoskeletal proteins, were highly concentrated in the PSD fraction, whereas those encoding housekeeping proteins, such as enzymes in the glycolytic pathway, were not. We extracted approximately 1900 mRNA species that were highly concentrated in the PSD fraction. mRNAs related to certain neuronal diseases were also enriched in the PSD fraction. We also constructed a cDNA library using the PSD fraction-associated mRNAs as templates, and identified 1152 randomly selected clones by sequencing. Our data suggested that the PSD fraction-associated mRNAs are a very useful resource, in which a number of as yet uncharacterized mRNAs are concentrated. Identification and functional characterization of them are essential for complete understanding of synaptic function.