De la Monte S M, Federoff H J, Ng S C, Grabczyk E, Fishman M C
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston 02114.
Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 1989 Apr 1;46(2):161-8. doi: 10.1016/0165-3806(89)90279-4.
GAP-43 is a rapidly transported axonal protein most prominently expressed in regenerating and developing nerves. However, the low level persistence of GAP-43 in the adult CNS where growth and regenerative capacity are minimal may additionally indicate a role for this molecule in neuronal remodeling. Previous studies have revealed GAP-43 immunoreactivity in neurites throughout many regions of the CNS. To identify the CNS neurons that express GAP-43 at different stages of development, we utilized in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry; the latter was performed with an antibody that recognizes GAP-43 immunoreactivity in both perikarya and neurites. In the perinatal period GAP-43 is expressed in all neurons. Subsequently its expression becomes progressively restricted such that by maturity most neurons no longer express detectable levels, although GAP-43 expression is still moderately high in the adult entorhinal cortex, and strikingly high in the adult hippocampus and olfactory bulb. In light of current notions about the function of GAP-43, it is tempting to speculate that this anatomy denotes neurons engaged in structural remodeling and functional plasticity.
GAP - 43是一种快速转运的轴突蛋白，在再生和发育中的神经中表达最为显著。然而，在生长和再生能力极小的成体中枢神经系统中，GAP - 43的低水平持续存在可能还表明该分子在神经元重塑中发挥作用。先前的研究已经揭示了中枢神经系统许多区域的神经突中存在GAP - 43免疫反应性。为了鉴定在发育的不同阶段表达GAP - 43的中枢神经系统神经元，我们采用了原位杂交和免疫细胞化学方法；后者是用一种能识别胞体和神经突中GAP - 43免疫反应性的抗体进行的。在围产期，所有神经元都表达GAP - 43。随后，其表达逐渐受到限制，以至于到成熟时，大多数神经元不再表达可检测到的水平，尽管在成体内嗅皮质中GAP - 43的表达仍然适度较高，而在成体海马体和嗅球中则显著较高。鉴于目前关于GAP - 43功能的观点，很容易推测这种解剖结构表明神经元参与了结构重塑和功能可塑性。
